Shattered Hope
by valorousknight
Summary: Ut Status"-To the beginning. This is the spell Harry uses to start again. Join him as he battles evil again in another epic tale of Harry Potter. First story. R&R but mostly R... Review people H/G Hr/R and other pairings. New chapter up!
1. Prologue

A note to my readers: Good news and bad news. The good news is I seem to have found some inspiration to this story... the bad news is that I won't be uploading any new chapters for a while, because I'm going to be rewriting/juicing up the existing chapters. I also won't be working on my other story for the time being :P but hopefully I'm here to stay... Oh, and I released Bob back to the wild, he's a grandfather now ^.^

Prologue

All his life he has been trying valiantly to stop the madness. All his life he spent devoted to keeping what was left of his friends safe. He didn't have a family. _He_ took them away. _He _is the one who always causes things to go so-

The young man sighed lightly. The sounds of battle waged on outside. The wreckage had been there for almost a decade, but battles were still fought there, at the old school. The magical schools had been all but destroyed. Students, purebloods only, learned at the "prestigious" Magical Academy, a castle of propagandist filth. Students there were taught the basics; Charms, Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Dark Arts, Runes, and Dark Arts.

A large crash that echoed around the small hut he was in. It had been Hagrid's, but over time, Hagrid fell. He fell like the school around him. Voldemort's first sign of imminent destruction of the entire world. At the time of the attack the school was used as a safe haven for all the people who were left widowed and orphaned and injured by the war. The perfect place for an attack. The place was left as rubble only to serve as a reminder to those who dared to oppose him that not one person was safe or spared from _his_ almighty powers.

Footsteps echoed along the hut and into a trap door under the bed where the young man was hiding. He was thinking rapidly to himself. Harry Potter had just finished reading a peculiar book. What really caught his attention was that now he had the power to save them all. To save his girlfriend from being gutted on an iron fence, the power to stop his two best friends from falling victim to the imperious curse and then forced to kill each other. He heard the floorboards creak from next to the bed.

"Ut status!" Harry cried. At that moment the bed, which was being lifted by a hulk of a man, Macnair, stopped suddenly. The world around him came to a crashing halt and then darkness hit him.


	2. Same Letter, New Start

A note to my readers: This is the first sentence of the first chapter of my first story. This is going to be in 3rd person…I think. I don't need a disclaimer because I OWN Hary POOOter ane teh Magjickle Waper(see my profile). I'm kidding, Harry Potter is owned solely by J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I don't own the characters either, well maybe… And even after a few years, I still don't. Bob says hi (I think. He may have said something along the line of "I'm going to fling poop at you!" but they sound similar.)

The next chapter should be up by midnight, each one is taking about an hour to review, criticize, rethink, rewrite and repost. :D

Chapter 1- Same Letter, New Start

_Ugh my head hurts. _Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked around. _Did it really work?_ Harry looked down at his hands. They were smaller than he remembered. And why was his vision so hazy? After Ginny died, he got his vision repaired completely. _It worked! I'm ten again! _Harry felt around for his glasses. After putting them on (for, of course, his vision was back to the way it was five years ago) he peered around the small, dingy, poorly lit room. He moved his head to the left a bit and felt something tickle the side of his cheek. He jumped slightly and felt for the source of his discomfort. A piece of string was what he found, which was promptly pulled. The room was flooded with light. He was in his small cupboard under the stairs. The spell worked. It actually worked. He would have given a whoop of joy if it had not been for the fact that he was small and defenseless.

_I still remember how to cast wandlessly but my magical core is not strong enough to produce the high amounts of power and focus to ascertain the correct use of wandless casting. _Harry thought correctly though. He also thought smart; he was no match for the Dursleys as long as he didn't have his wand.

A series of rapping noises on the door interrupted his train of thought.

"Get up! Now!" Petunia Dursley was a very strict bossy woman. She had the neck of a giraffe and face of a horse. She can be scary loud and has the shrillest voice the world has ever laid ears upon. She could scream and you could hear for miles. She was married to Vernon Dursley. He was a large and very stout man. He, unlike his wife, had the face and neck of a walrus. He could be the only person to ever fit perfectly into a Fat Albert costume. Except for Dudley Dursley, the youngest Dursley. He was a downright nasty brute who would stop at nothing to pound every last inch of a boy black and blue. He looked strikingly similar to his father, although bigger. He is also a lot dumber. Some say Petunia Dursley dropped him on his head. This wouldn't be very surprising seeing as he ways a ton and a half now…

Harry quickly got out of bed and opened his 'bedroom door'. That is, if one could call it a bedroom. He stumbled the short distance from the hall to the kitchen, he still was not used to his new (or old, he mused) body. He pushed the door open with more force than necessary, but, using his reflex honed as a seeker, he managed to catch the door before it slammed into the wall.

"Now cook the breakfast and try not to _burn _anything like the last time," Aunt Petunia's shrill voice rang out.

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry said automatically. _Wait, today's the day I get my-_

"Hurry up boy, and bring me my coffee," Uncle Vernon said, interrupting his thought. "Oh, and while your at it get the mail."

"Yes Uncle Vernon," Harry replied. He set the eggs and bacon he had cooked in front of his relatives. As he was leaving the room to get the mail, a voice rang out.

"Oh, good, good. There may be hope for him yet," Uncle Vernon said. Harry smiled lightly to himself. He couldn't agree more, he had plenty of hope now.

He approached the small pool of mail and slowly sifted through them. When he found the letter he was looking for, he slid it back through the mail slot. He hurried back with the mail for his Uncle, and proceeded to scarf down his breakfast which earned him a reprimand from Aunt Petunia and a threatened beating from Uncle Vernon.

"I'm going to err, go do the yard work now." With that, Harry disappeared from the kitchen and stepped outside. A tawny owl was perched on the door light. Harry tore open his letter, tearing the letter itself clean in two in the process and read his Hogwarts acceptance letter and supplies. He also took his ticket out and promptly pocketed it. He took a piece of Talc and wrote out 'I accept' on the back of the envelope and gave it to the owl. The owl took off. _That could not have started out smoother. _

At that moment he heard yelling from inside the house. Today also happened to be Dudley's birthday. That means Zoo for Harry Day. The Dursleys would be out any minute to tell him that he was going to the zoo with them. As if the world revolved around his thoughts, the door swung open. Harry quickly stowed the letter in a nearby hedge. He made a motion as if to pass it off as a small stumble. Dudley brushed harshly past him. Harry really did stumble. Aunt Petunia followed quickly after, who was the proceeded by Uncle Vernon. Uncle Vernon looked down menacingly at Harry, his lips twisted up in a very Snape-like sneer.

"Potter, you are coming with us," Uncle Vernon spat.

Ending note to my readers: Whew, that took a while. Don't worry the chapters will get progressively longer. Don't forget to review and, most importantly read my profile… Wow I got that backwards… This one actually took around a half hour, so I'm going to try to get most of them done by midnight.


	3. A Twist of Fate

My note to the readers: I understand that the story is hard to follow right now. It will get better or I will call it a bust… of course I will still finish it. I am estimating multiple chapters, maybe 50 max. If you want a real good read, read some of Abraxan's amazing works. Here's Chapter 2. Review…and flame if you would like to be publicly humiliated. Sitting here thinking, just 20 more to rewrite.

Chapter 2- A twist of fate

The trip to the zoo was quiet, rather long, and exceedingly boring. The car radio had been turned extremely low, making the occupants of the car strain to hear what it was that was being said on Uncle Vernon's political talk shows. Not that that had mattered, seeing as Dudley felt the need to whine as loudly as he could.

"Why did he have to come, dad? This is the worst birthday ever." Dudley was throwing one of his infamous 'Dudley Tantrums' which were so far getting him nowhere. Harry rolled his eyes at his childish cousin, or at least he would have, if Uncle Vernon hadn't been constantly watching him to make sure he didn't do anything "unnatural".

"Now Dudley, you don't want him blowing up the house now do you?" Uncle Vernon rudely injected, glaring quickly at Harry.

"I _won't_ blow up your house." Harry yelled.

"Don't use that tone with me, boy. Unless you'd rather me double your chores and leave you foodless for a week. Now Dudley, when we get there, we can get you more presents, how does that sound?"

"_Gin, where are you taking me?" An 18 year old Harry Potter asked. He had really grown in the last year. He was now as tall as Ron, and he was no longer the scrawny kid that had first stepped foot on platform 9 ¾. He had gained muscles, probably due to him being on the run for the last year._

"_Just shut up and follow me, Potter." Ginny Weasley had __really__ grown up in the last year. She had all the right curves, and knew how to make Harry melt. Her flaming red hair had darkened to a rich auburn color, and her eyes had become hazel due to an accident a few months prior._

_Harry was wearing a black muggle tux. Ginny was dressed in a red cocktail dress. They had, up until an hour ago, been at Ron and Hermione's muggle wedding (this was, of course Hermione's idea.)._

"_You know, Harry," Ginny said as they stepped into a small clearing behind The Burrow. "I am getting so tired of waiting," she continued in a low voice. She sauntered over to the tree in the middle of the clearing._

"_We've been over this, Gin. I- we should wait until Voldemort is gone," Harry said, although, being slightly tipsy wasn't helping him much. Nor was her dress, for that matter._

"_I'm afraid," She said as she turned around, "that you don't get a say anymore." With that, she proceeded to let the dress fall off her shoulders._

Harry was awakened with a jolt as the car hit a pothole in the road.

They arrived at the zoo at half past noon, meaning that it was packed. It was sweltering hot, too hot for even this time of year. It was mid July, but a recent heat wave made it feel like a giant's oven roast. _In fact, _Harry thought, _it's about time for the giants' man hunt. _Harry vividly remembered his first time being chased by a horde of hungry and rather large giants. He frowned slightly, that was the time that Ron nearly lost his leg. The giants had taken him, and instead of eating him, decided to play a game of catch with him. One dropped him and he landed in a heap with a sickening crunch and a loud scream.

Harry snapped back to reality. It wouldn't happen this time. It would be over before then. It _**wouldn't**_happen. They went through the monkey section, with Dudley complaining about how bored he was, and made their way quickly to the reptile room.

It was dark like the last time, and, like last time, the cobra was sitting in a well lit plexiglass cage. Just like last time, the snake was lazing around, its body in a loose coil. This time, Harry would refrain from talking to the snake.

"Make it move," Dudley shouted, his face pressed firmly into the glass container. It made him look almost pig-like. The irony of that fact made Harry smile. "What are _you_ smiling about?" Dudley asked snidely.

"Just thinking of the pig that just had its face pressed into the glass." Dudley stared dumbly for a moment before entirely devoting his mind to comprehending what Harry said. Harry decided that he should move on, not that he was worried about Dudley, it would take him a few days before he figured it out.

Harry heard Dudley rapping on the glass again. "Come off it Dudley, its not going to move."

"No one asked for your opinion."

"Yeah, well no one ever does," Harry mutter quietly to himself, but Dudley overheard.

"That's because your trash. Your dirt that wouldn't even be fit on the ground. You and your parents are the same. Trash, complete trash. Your father the tramp and your mother his two-cent whore. If-," Dudley had, at that moment, shut his mouth. It was too late though. Harry was staring Dudley directly in the eyes. Harry's eyes were a deep, hardened green.

"Shut up Dudley." Harry's voice was barely above a whisper, but it cut through the room like a knife in butter. Dudley's yelling had made the whole room look up and towards the pair. At Harry's words Dudley took another step forward, more determined looking than frightened.

"Make me Potter. Or are you going to go crying back to your parents. Oh yeah, that's right their dead. You-." At that same moment Harry started racing towards his hog of a cousin. He reached him and gave him a sharp right hook that sent him sprawling, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, both coming from the bathroom, gave a cry of outrage as Harry began pummeling every inch of Dudley he could.

"Get him off of me." A few onlookers who had heard the whole conversation cheered as Harry punched Dudley square in the nose.

A strong pair of arms suddenly pulled Harry away from Dudley. They continued to drag him out of the reptile room and out to the entrance. "That's enough, son," a soothing voice Harry recognized said.

"I'm gonna kill him." Harry looked up at the familiar face.

Ending note to my readers: Cliffy… Don't kill me. Flames are still accepted because I need to start my wall of shame. I also need a beta reader for the story. You guys can all guess who though. Your all smart…except you. Valorousknight and his angry monkey (.) bob… looks more like a… you get the point. This took a bit longer. I also added an entire new segment… I might have to up the rating now, 'cause it is getting hot in here. :D


	4. A New Hope and Revealing the Truth

A note to my readers: The story is going to start picking up the pace here. I'm estimating this chapter to be about 1,000+ words. Wish me luck. valorousknight and his angry monkey (.) bob.

Chapter 3-A New Hope and Revealing the Truth

Harry was looking directly into the eyes of Arthur Weasley. Arthur Weasley was looking directly back. His eyes flickered quickly to the scar on Harry's forehead, his slight frown increasing as he found what he was looking for.

"Where are your family, son?" Mr. Weasley asked him.

"Dead. Those _things_ in there," he gave a quick jerk towards the reptile room, "are the most disgusting pieces of filth on the planet."

"Why on Earth would you say that? They're your family. If anything you should be nicer towards them."

"Yeah, right after I make the breakfast, clean the dishes, do the yard work, wax the car, make the lunch, do more dishes, clean the whole house, make the dinner, do more dishes and clean the backyard. If that should be considered family, I want out!" Harry was breathing heavily, not pausing for a breath through his whole tirade.

Arthur Weasley stared dumbfounded at Harry. "Y-You have to do _all_ that? I-I mean, what do they do? Surely they do something"

"No, not one single bloody thing. I'm their own personal Cinderella," Harry snarled.

The Dursleys took that moment to pop out of the reptile room. They made a beeline straight for Harry with looks of anger and hatred even Harry had never seen before.

"You, boy let's go. I'll be damned if you get away from this one. No sir, you'll be out of the house in no time for this one," Uncle Vernon said gleefully, too gleefully for Mr. Weasley and a few of the watchers.

"DAD, DAD! Did you get him, dad? Is he dangerous? Did he hit you too? How big is he really?" A group of redheads had emerged from the crowd. Each of the five young redheads had said something at the same time.

Arthur Weasley straightened out and looked directly at Mr. Dursley. "Your right. Harry will not be at your house for long. In fact, I would be hard pressed to allow him to return to that house. If this is the way you treat him, then there is no way I can allow him to go back with you."

"H-how did you know his n-name?" Uncle Vernon stuttered.

"Everyone knows his name where I'm from." He looked down at Harry and gave a slight smile. Harry, remembering he doesn't know about wizards, puts on a face that resembles shock, or silent roaring laughter.

"Y-your one of them are you? W-well you c-c-can't have him!" Vernon said turning redder and redder, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth like a rabid hound.

"I can assure you, Mr.-" He turned to Harry.

"Dursley, sir."

"Right. I can assure you, Mr. Dursley that Harry will be coming with me unless you want the please-men to be at your front door when you get home."

"Is that a threat, sir?"

"Yes, it is. Come along Harry, Molly, kids, we're leaving." Mr. Weasley turned around and strode away from the crowd of people, security still trying to find their way through, and out towards the parking lot. They continued to walk towards the back of the lot and to a small wood. "Hold on tight, Harry," he said, offering an arm to Harry, "this may feel a little uncomfortable. Just don't let go and don't scream, I do appreciate my eardrums intact."

Harry grabbed the arm and held on, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the horrid sensation of apparating. He felt the familiar pull and the pressure from everywhere as the oxygen was pulled from his lungs. Just when he thought he could take no more, they arrived at Harry's favorite home, or at least his home away from home. Nothing in his mind could compete with Hogwarts.

"You don't seem so surprised, seeing as you've never even heard of wizards." Molly Weasley, the matriarch of the family, was a plump and very kindly woman. She had an awful temper though, one that could only be matched by one other woman he knew.

"What makes you think that I haven't heard of wizards?" Harry asked sharply. He winced at the tone of voice he had said that in, expecting to get a tongue lashing from Mrs. Weasley. However, it didn't come. Instead, Mr. Weasley spoke up.

"It was the way he talked. It seems as if you wouldn't know much about us."

"Yeah, well, I did get my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. I used what little I could gauge from my dreams to make a theory on how you wizards and witches work."

"Really? Please, do tell us what you theorized," Mr. Weasley said.

"What dreams? Where they about-," the children had started to crowd around, now realizing who he was.

"Don't you dare start asking him about that. It was traumatic enough without you all butting in," Mrs. Weasley yelled at her kids.

"Well anyway," Harry started, unfazed by the loud lecture that Mrs. Weasley was still giving her children, "I theorized that wizards need some sort of wand, or staff, to help them control their magic. Using personal experience, I began to test this theory. Every piece of magic I did, always accidental, was very powerful. This is besides the one where my hair grew back. I deduced that's because not everyone can have an equally powerful magical flow, otherwise my parents would still be alive. I also decided that each witch or wizard has a magical core. I found mine accidentally after using a rather powerful accidental magic that got me on top of the school roof. It was painful and must have drained a lot out of me. I decided that meditation was one of the few ways to restore and strengthen the core. Another theory is, at this school, they teach you how to control your magic and select certain points in your magical core in order to perform certain tasks. For example, a point in your magical core regulates your ability to do water-based spells. Well, saying the specific incantation can help harness, control, and regulate the small portion of your magical core. If you know a lot of spells and can do them well your core is strong, but not powerful. The only way your core is powerful is if you can do the most advanced spells in rapid succession."

"That is quite the conjecture Mr. Potter. And I must admit it isn't too far off the mark. Now I'm sure you're wondering about how we know your name?" Mr. Weasley asked. At Harry's quick nod, he continued. "When you were only a year old, an evil wizard, the most evil wizard of our time, came to your house. He broke the door down and killed your father. Then, he went after you, but your mother stood in his way. Everyone he ever tried to kill, he did. All except for one. You, Harry are the only one who ever survived. That night, he vanished. No one knows where he went. Albus Dumbledore thinks that he's still alive." Looking at Harry he added, "Dumbledore is the headmaster at your school and one of the wisest and strongest wizards of the day. He led the resistance against V-."

"It's okay Mr. Weasley, I know." Seeing Mr. Weasley's confused face he added in a low whisper, "I'll explain later."

"Good morning Weasleys. And it would appear we have a guest." Albus Dumbledore was striding up the lawn towards the two.

"Yes, Albus. This is Harry Potter. Harry this is Albus Dumbledore." Again, Harry nodded in a way that seemed to say "I know".

"Harry, what are you doing here? Why aren't you home with your aunt and uncle?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

"Why would I ever go back there? But that isn't important right now," Harry said, brushing away any protests with a quick wave of his hand. "Would it be alright if I spoke to the two of you alone?"

"Alright Harry, lead the way," Dumbledore said. Harry led the way out to the small clearing behind the Burrow. "Now Harry, what is it that you want to tell us?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Albus. I'm debating if I should be telling you about what I am about to tell you."

"May I ask why it is that you feel conflicted to talk to me, Harry? Especially since we seem to be on a first name basis," Dumbledore said pointedly.

"You once told me that the reason that you would not run for Minister of Magic is due to your inability to cope with power. What I am about to tell you, and yes, I have decided to tell you, is a lot of power to hold. The reason I asked for both you and Mr. Weasley is because I hold you both in very high regards.

"It's been a long year, Albus. Now, I must stress the importance of secrecy about what I'm about to say." At their nods, Harry continued. "I've done more than yard work, let me assure you. The last time I saw a Weasley was about eight months ago. That was when Ron died."

"Wait. M-my son? Ron? Albus, I think he's delusional."

"Hold on Arthur. Let's at least let him finish."

"Thank you Albus. Ron died the warriors death, took out thirty death eaters with him. It started at Hogwarts in my first year. The Philosopher's Stone was being held there. It was made by an old friend of yours, Albus. Nicholas-."

"Flamel, yes. That is correct Harry. Please proceed."

"Voldemort was on the back of a teachers head there. We, meaning Ron Weasley and another friend, a muggle born by the name of Hermione Granger, thwarted Voldemort from getting the stone."

"How did three young students stop Voldemort from getting the stone?"

"Luck, Pure luck. Oh, and love. You told me that love is what helped me defeat him. You also told me that the door that I could not open at the Department of Mysteries was full of love."

"How do you know all this?" The two adults asked simultaneously.

"I'll get there, just hold on. Anyway, my second year was one of the most eventful. That year the school was under siege by the 'heir of Slytherin'. Ron and Hermione and I thought it was Draco Malfoy." At this, Mr. Weasley perked up slightly. "All the victims of the attacks were in a petrified state. You used Professor Sprouts' mandrake roots to make a potion to cure the victims. Hermione was the last victim. We later found out that the monster of Slytherin was a basilisk."

"A basilisk? Inside the school? I'll be damned if I let my kids go there now!" Arthur Weasley had a determined look on his face that Harry knew too well to mean something along the lines of 'My kids are not going back there and that's final'.

"Mr. Weasley, it's been there for over a thousand years. You went to school with it in there. So did everyone who passed through those hallowed halls. Again I fought Voldemort, this time as a schoolboy. I found out he was the heir of Slytherin. I also learned that he used a diary to contain himself in. A horcrux, he had seven."

"So he actually did have horcruxes than?" Dumbledore asked sharply.

"What's a horcrux?" Mr. Weasley looked questioningly between the two of them.

"Yes, he had horcruxes, Professor. A horcrux, Mr. Weasley, is a piece of a soul left in an object that is used to indefinitely prolong life. Voldemort thought that with seven, he would be invincible. He also sought the Elder Wand. The fabled wand of Death's own creation. Yes it's real and in very close proximity." He shot a quick glance at Dumbledore's guilty face. "He used this piece of the horcrux in a diary. He then abducted the writer and brought her down to the Chamber of Secrets. I fought the Basilisk and won, earning the sword of Gryffindor in the process."

"How did this girl get the diary? Who was it that was brought down to the chamber?" Mr. Weasley asked, worry evident in his face.

"Ginny. She got it from Mr. Malfoy at Flourish and Blotts. You and he had a brawl after he said some rather rude comments. Like what happened today at the zoo." Harry then proceeded to tell Dumbledore of what transpired at the zoo. Mr. Weasley still looked worried.

"I can't say that I approve of that Harry. Just don't do that in school." Dumbledore said, but there was a brilliant twinkle dancing in his eyes.

"You can say that again professor. In my fifth year, I got suspended from Quidditch for life after punching Malfoy. Anyway, in my third year, my _innocent_ godfather, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. At the time, I thought he was out to get me. Of course, I was wrong. He was actually out to get Pettigrew."

As the day progressed, the two adults found out more and more about Harry. They learned of Harry's Triwizard escapades and of his fight in the department of mysteries. At that point, Harry faltered and almost broke down, but after being hardened in the war, he continued. He told of how he learned of the horcruxes and, again faltered at Dumbledore's death. He talked of how he started his quest to search out the horcruxes and of how each and every one of his friends fell.

"It was very hard to find the horcruxes. I never found them all. When Ron died, all I had down were the diary and a ring. It turns out the ring was the resurrection stone. That, professor, makes two hallows. The third is the invisibility cloak you have. When I came back to this time, to stop the destruction and madness, I destroyed one permanently. A horcrux that was implanted inside me when Voldemort tried to kill me the first time. I have my suspicions about the others. Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's Diadem, Slytherin's locket, and his snake, Nagini.

"I eventually found what I had been looking for, a book on how to reverse time. It exercises caution to whoever uses it. You cannot use the spell twice. It could cause a major rift in time and space. It could even destroy the universe."

"But why come back, Harry. You had a lot done," Dumbledore said.

"Because I had nothing left to live for then. All my friends were dead. I was trapped in a trapdoor about to be found. I was out of choices. I _had_ to come back." This time Harry did break down crying. Mr. Weasley took Harry in a fierce embrace.

"It's okay Harry. It's okay to cry and to feel sad or even confused," Mr. Weasley soothed. "Professor, if it's okay with you that is, I would like Harry to come stay with us."

"I will grant you permission. Now we will get on to the subject of providing protection. Arthur, I will be sending some warders to your home. I will be on my way. Remember Arthur, it is best to keep this secret. I will see to it that Pettigrew is captured. Arthur…"

"I'll get him, don't worry. We'll come up with something." With that, Arthur Weasley and Harry Potter walked away towards the Burrow.

Ending note to my readers: ...I got nothing...valorousknight and his angry monkey (.) bob

Yup, this chapter's a biggun.


	5. Family

A note to my readers: Unfortunately bob (

A note to my readers: Unfortunately bob (.) is not coming out. To see him properly, type this in sequence; 1. at symbol 2. opening parenthesis 3. right arrow 4. period 5. left arrow 6. closing parenthesis 7. at symbol…That's bob for you. I will start putting stats on the bottom…you'll see…It's late here so I'm probably going to drop dead writing this.

Summary: Harry finally gets what he's always wanted.

Chapter 4-Family

The walk back up the path to the burrow was quiet. Harry was wondering whether the Weasley's would accept him this time. The thought of them not accepting him was gut wrenching. Especially if Ginny turned him down. That would kill him. It killed him right now knowing that he could not run up there right now and snog her senseless. It killed him to know that he can't remember the 'good old days with Ron' or to even run up to Ron and pull him into a manly embrace. Ron wouldn't be his 'brother' now. Harry would have to start from scratch. Harry knew that having Ron back was the most amazing thing, besides Ginny that is. But he also knew that he would have to build back his friendship with Ron and his relationship with Ginny. Unfortunately, at this time, Ginny was only infatuated with The Boy Who Lived. He needed her to be in _love_ with _him_.

They entered the house. It was fairly dark, not as welcoming as it seemed the first time Harry had ever entered the house. Then again, this time there were no flying cars and no complete starvation. The house did seem slightly more welcoming before. Only just though. Harry's thoughts flashed to a moment where he saw the house last. There was a neat pile of rubble littering the base of what used to be a kitchen. When he found out that the Weasleys never made it out, but could still be alive underneath the massive stone structures that used to support the house, Harry immediately ordered what few of the Order members remaining to dig quickly for the survivors. The first thing they uncovered was a cut up arm. It was cold and limp, but what made Harry dash away was the glittering ruby ring on the finger. His engagement ring to Ginny.

He stopped that train of thought abruptly. That was never going to happen. Not again, at least. He would make sure of it this time. He was going to train early every morning, getting physically and mentally stronger.

"Harry, this is my family," Mr. Weasley started. "That's Percy," he pointed to the tallest of the Weasley children, the twins chorused "Perfect Prefect Percy" earning them a scowl. He looked more kindly than when they last met, even with the scowl. "Those two are Fred and George," he indicated the twins with an odd gesture meaning 'take your pick, I'm not sure which is which'. "This is Ron, my youngest son. He's starting Hogwarts this year. And that is Ginny. She starts next year." Harry saw Ginny's slowly retreating form. Their eyes met and Ginny blushed before making a mad dash up the stairs. "And this," Mr. Weasley continued as if his daughter's doing this were a natural occurrence, "is my wife, Molly Weasley. Everyone, this is Harry Potter."

A small eruption came from the twins. Of course, it was completely staged. Everyone knew who he was already, but if that had ever stopped the twins, they'd be selling stocks in an office cubicle.

"Oh, dear Harry, you look a bit peaky. And look at the time. It's about time to start dinner." Molly Weasley fretted for a few more seconds before producing her wand and muttering a few things. Pots and Pans zoomed from their once stagnant positions. A large roast landed on an oven tray before it made its way into the stove to cook. A frying pan was mixing vegetable medley.

"I'll never get used to saying this but, I love magic." Everyone laughed at Harry's statement.

It didn't take long for everyone to get used to the fact that Harry was going to be staying for the summer. He made quick friends with the twins and Ron. He didn't see Ginny for the rest of the week, though. Harry spent his mornings getting up at 5:30 and jogging for half an hour, doing 60 push-ups and pull ups. And meditating for an hour. It didn't take long, actually it was about a week. He could finally cast a small levitation charm wandlessly. His magical core, or so he guessed would be at full strength by the end of this school year.

One morning, the day before his birthday, he had just gotten home from his jog when Albus Dumbledore came to the Burrow. Accompanying him were four ministry officials and Cornelius Fudge himself. They were there to collect Scabbers, Ron's rat. Scabbers, for those who don't know, is actually Peter Pettigrew. He is a rat because he is an animagus, or shape shifter. They left without a single word. With a small pop, they were gone.

The next day, Harry woke up with the light shining brilliantly in his eyes. His weary mind told him he was 25, but his physical being told him he was eleven. Harry walked downstairs, the house seemed empty. His reflexes were up and alert instantly. His magical core flared up and all his magical senses activated. He could sense all the magical cores within the area. He relaxed when he saw that all the Weasleys were in the back yard. There was no doubt that they were going to surprise him, or at least, try to. It was very difficult these days to surprise the last Potter though.

Harry walked to the back yard quickly and purposefully. As he exited through the iron door, he was greeted with a booming chorus of "Happy Birthday Harry". Harry's ears picked up Ginny's small voice. It was like honey to his ears to hear her voice again. It was silky smooth despite the fact that she was rather nervous. Harry was a practiced legillimens but he didn't need it to tell him Ginny was worried about how he thought of her. Harry would have given anything to have her in his arms at that moment.

By the time Harry had gotten to his birthday cake, he was stuffed full of Molly Weasley's famous cooking. Of course, that didn't stop him from eating an extra large slice. He had gotten a sneakoscope from Ron. The twins had gotten him a set of Filibusters fireworks. Molly and Arthur Weasley, after deciding he'd be coming back soon, (which confused Harry) had gotten him a hand for their clock.

The iron gate in the back of the yard swung open. Harry turned as if in slow motion. There, standing in all his glory was Sirius Black. Sirius took three long strides across the yard and to the table where Harry was sitting and pulled Harry into a tight embrace.

"Sirius? SIRIUS!" With that, Harry returned the embrace amidst questions of "Sirius Black?" or statements like "be careful Harry".

"Don't worry, Dumbledore filled me in," Sirius whispered into his ear. "He thought it would be best I know."

"Yeah, he was right. Welcome back."

"Thanks squirt." This earned him a half-hearted glare from Harry.

About an hour later, everyone was taking to the fact that Sirius Black was innocent and that Scabbers was, in fact, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius and the Weasleys were recounting some of their many fond moments with Harry's parents. By the time Sirius, and Harry for they would be living in the same house, were leaving, the Weasley matriarch was still trying to get them to go home with a next to exploding stomach.

Life was almost at its best for Harry.

Ending note to my readers: Well, here's the next chapter. A little bit of fluff. Harry's life is getting better. valorousknight and his angry monkey (.) bob

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	6. Fracture

A note to my readers: I'm going to start putting emphasis on my work

A note to my readers: I'm going to start putting emphasis on my work. I will try to update every weekend or so. Bear with me. There will be (or so I hope) 10,000 words/chapter. I'm also getting rid of chapter titles in lieu of a chapter summary.

Chapter Summary: Harry visits Potter Manor for the first time. Sirius starts Harry on Quidditch…again.

Chapter 5-Fracture

Harry was apparated by Sirius to the front of a wrought iron gate. Behind the gate was a large mansion, or small castle. There were stain glass windows on either side of a large oak door. The first ten feet of the mansion was covered in red bricks. The next ten feet was what appeared to be finely crafted mahogany with sculptures that reminded Harry of Notre Dame in France. What Harry found to be the most amazing was the glass roof. It almost seemed like a greenhouse. Harry quickly thought of Neville, who became the first medic to use herbs in the war.

"This, Harry, is Potter Manor. It was entrusted to me that I take you to live with me in the house if there was ever any problems."

As they walked up to the gate, it swung open automatically. The grass looked neatly trimmed and the garden looked well taken care of. Harry shot a questioning look at Sirius.

"House elves, Harry. The house elves are what kept your house clean so long." The words 'your house' were foreign to Harry. It was strange to realize that this was _his_ house. After all that time during the war he went searching for it, it was here, right in front of him.

Harry and Sirius walked inside of the large oak door and into a vast hall with paintings lining the sides. Old witches and wizards were looking around, squinting at the large amount of light being let in.

"At last! A Potter," some of them shouted. "Get out you traitor," the remaining screamed.

"He's not a traitor," two voices, male and female, said from the end of the hall.

"James? Is that you?"

"Hey mate; I was wondering what took you so long."

"Ah, yes. Azkaban does keep you for a while."

"Azkaban? Sirius, what did you do this time?"

"Me? It was that rat, Pettigrew."

"Little Peter? Ah, well. I was wondering why we were dead," James said with an air of slight amusement.

"The 'little' rat caused big damage. Anyway, this," he pointed at Harry, "is your son. Harry, these are your parents."

"My lord, James he looks-," Lily started.

"Just like me, yes?" James finished.

"But-," again Lily was cut off, but this time by Harry.

"I've got your eyes. If I had a knut for every time I heard that, I'd be pretty rich. Metaphorically speaking of course."

"Would you _boys_ stop interjecting? It's quite rude."

"Sorry mum," Harry said guiltily. He was elated, however, that he had actually been able to say 'mum', something he has never done before, at least not in full conversation. He must have sat there for hours, recounting his life story to his parents. It felt weird not knowing his parents, but having a comfortable conversation about the war. When they got down to his love life, Harry blushed furiously and told them that, at the moment he didn't have one. They then asked him about then. He didn't lie and the whole hall erupted into laughter. Upon seeing Harry's confused face, James stopped laughing just enough to tell him that he was doomed to the Potter family curse. All the men would fall for a pretty redhead.

At around bedtime, his mother made him, (if he had the choice, he'd be up for days on end) Harry snuck into the kitchen using a small disillusionment charm.

"That, Harry, is a pretty nifty trick." Harry spun around to face his headmaster. Dumbledore looked calm.

"Err, can I help you, sir?"

"Harry, I must stress the importance of your being careful. Many witches and wizards have abused their power. I am fortunate, as you may well have learned by now, not to have too much power in my hands. You have far more power than even I could have imagined anyone having at such a young age. You can do wandless magic. I know this because you have not been to Diagon Alley."

"Don't worry, sir. I know my limits when it comes to power." This earned him an approving nod from Dumbledore.

"Very well, Harry. Good luck in this new and exciting adventure."

"Wait, before you go," Harry waited for Dumbledore to nod before asking, "how did you get in here?"

"I was married to your great aunt until she died. The spouse of a Potter is aloud in until they die."

"We're related?"

Dumbledore just smiled before walking away.

_Wow. I'm related to Dumbledore. That means I do have a living relative._ That thought alone made Harry's mind go blank. At that moment, Sirius walked in.

"Hey, kiddo. I thought you were in bed."

"Yeah."

"So why aren't you?"

"Uh-huh."

"Harry, are you ok?"

"Whatever you say."

"HARRY!"

"Wh-, oh, hi Sirius." Harry looked around once more to see if Dumbledore was still there.

"What's got you all riled up? The last time I saw a Potter riled up was when Snivellus called your mom a mudblood."

"Dumbledore. He's _related_ to me."

"That's not really surprising." Harry turned to Sirius so fast it gave Sirius whiplash from watching. "I mean, all the old wizarding families are connected. It was only a matter of time before we found out about it. You've had two lifetimes to figure it out."

"Hey! I was 25 when I came back. That's like 38 for me, especially with the Death Eaters and Voldemort riding my ass for those last eleven." Although Harry's voice was sharp, his eyes were dancing with the hilarity of the situation. Sirius looked bemused.

"O.k. fine. You had about one life."

"And luckily I still have that."

"You're lucky you're not being punished for being out of bed."

"But you couldn't do that."

"Oh, and why not?"

"Because I was never here." Harry instantly disappeared.

"HARRY! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU JUST DO?" Sirius yelled. Roaring laughter could be heard from the main entrance hall. Sirius rushed inside to see Harry sitting there doubled over in laughter. James was out of the frame; he had fallen so far low, and was now roaring, despite the glare he was getting from his wife.

"Sirius, I c-can't believe you f-fell for th-that one. It was your own trick! Remember, Halloween fourth year? Ring any bells."

"That was the time where I used my shadow to…" Sirius stopped abruptly. His face flushed a very red, Ron-like color. That was the time where he used his shadow to confess his unyielding love to Lily. When she had finally agreed to go on the date, he just vanished. This caused an uproar. No one ever just disappeared from Hogwarts. When they found him later he swore that he had apparated. Sirius never got slapped more in his life than at that moment, and he was slapped often. "The Playboy of Hogwarts" as Lily had recalled. This earned two stares from James and Sirius. Harry, however, was looking every other direction he humanly could.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Lily asked, sounding very concerned.

"I heard something. Sounded like rustling." Harry's senses were instantly up. He felt a strange tingling sensation. His magic peaked, and then his magical core fractured. He fell in a twisted heap and started to convulse.

Ending note to my readers: After considering it, I decided to put chapter titles in. That is all. valorousknight and his angry monkey bob, who will no longer be shown because he is waiting with a katana behind the front door. (Dane Cook moment)XD

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	7. Memories

A note to my readers: …on with the story

A note to my readers: Warning! Graphic depictions of violence …on with the story!

Summary: Harry wakes up.

Chapter 6-Memories

"Well, if he doesn't wake up soon, he could die."

"I still can't believe Death Eaters found us so quickly. And everyone is blaming me."

"I don't blame you." A lot of voices erupted into a loud agreement.

Harry Potter was in the magical reversal ward at St. Mungo's hospital. So far, the medical teams had no idea what had happened. From what they heard, he just fainted, but he's been out for almost a month.

Harry was stuck in a dark, empty nothingness. He was seeing things there. Things he didn't like. People were dieing left and right. Mutilated bodies were flying everywhere. It was a battlefield. Hogwarts was ablaze; Harry was losing this battle. The retreat was sounded, but it was too late. Anti-apparition wards had been set back into effect. The battle was forced to continue. Gale winds had started moments before the battle had commenced. Now it was like a small hurricane had passed throughout the area.

A large explosion rocked the battlefield. Lord Voldemort had taken center stage, determinedly making his way over to a battle between Harry and Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's son. With a quick flick of his wrist, Harry was sent sprawling into the inferno. His arms were seared by the intense heat but still he battled on. It was an intense fight, Harry against Voldemort. Voldemort had, by the end of the fight, weakened Harry to such a great extent, Harry was forced to use the maximum of his power.

By the end of the fight, sixteen people had died, including Seamus Finnegan and Professor McGonagall. The remainders, due to Bill Weasley deactivating the wards, were able to escape with their lives.

Harry was plunged back into the abyss. He heard voices, unnaturally loud voices. He heard Sirius and Dumbledore. The Weasleys were there too, talking amongst themselves. Ron was playing chess with someone, pieces clinking every other moment. Another person was sleeping in a chair next to his bed, the heat was radiating in waves. He suddenly realized how cold he was. The warmth was comforting to him. That was when he realized that the heat was very familiar to him. He felt a piece of cloth brush against his limp hand.

"Ginny dear, it's time to go," Molly Weasley said. Harry heard Ginny stir.

"S-sorry mum, I d-dosed off," Ginny said between jaw-cracking yawns. Ginny got up to leave. Harry whimpered in response, his only source of warmth leaving him. Everyone started at this sudden noise.

"Come on Gin," Ron said, "we have to go or Fred, George and I will miss the train."

_How long have I been out? Bloody hell!_

He heard the distinct sound of metal on metal and the shuffling of feet. It was followed again by the sound of screeching metal. _Someone should really fix that door._ Harry inwardly chuckled. Something cold, wet and rough was being pressed against his forehead; a cloth.

He drifted back into the abyss. This time he saw Ginny and himself. They were walking around the black lake. He realized this to be the time when he had first kissed Ginny. She looked beautiful, bathed in the moonlight, her long red hair glowing lightly. She looked nervous but her chocolate brown eyes danced with the light. Harry's heart skipped a beat. He was kissing her, snogging her senseless. He remembered feeling the elation as his hormones began to take over; fortunately he refrained himself. They stopped and continued to walk, now back up towards the castle. They talked along the way, inaudible to Harry's ears. The conversation was so hard to remember being, in his mind, nine years ago.

His mind drifted again to that dark abyss. The cloth was gone now; he felt a blanket being draped over his prone, comatose body. He thought of the four-poster beds in the Gryffindor dormitories. He drifted off, yet again, into complete, blissful darkness.

The next time Harry thought of anything was when Sirius came in. Harry knew he had been crying from the way he was talking. He also sounded very fatigued, as if he hadn't slept in a while.

"Hey, Harry, I need you to wake up now. You've missed the sorting. First day of classes start tomorrow." He paused for a moment, taking a sharp breath. "You're all over the Prophet. You should see some of the headlines. They'd make you laugh, cry, even shout. But, heh, you know, I'd like it better if you _could _see them. We're all worried about you. I've got to go, squirt. Get well soon."

Harry was in the abyss again. Images were flashing through his mind. Devil's Snare was winding its way slowly around his legs. Keys were fluttering just outside his reach; a dozen brooms lay against a wall. A key being thrust into a keyhole. A chess set, sized enough to fit the giants. A troll in a long, dark passageway. It was knocked out cold. A series of potions lay in a row on a table. He took one and walked through the black flames before him. He walked slowly, hypnotically towards a mirror, the Mirror of Erised. He looked inside, but he saw Voldemort, standing there laughing in his high, cold laughter. He was holding a small red stone. The Philosopher's stone, elixir of life and the glory of wealth was now Voldemort's. A jet of green light came from the end of Voldemort's raised wand. It sped at Harry in slow motion. It hit him and he knew no more.

The next time he heard voices outside of his dreams was around Halloween. Sirius was back, along with the three remaining Weasley's.

"They say he's getting better, so now we can only hope he wakes up soon," Sirius said solemnly.

"Mum, is he going to get better?" Ginny asked her Mrs. Weasley. Her voice was full of worry.

"They're not exactly sure, Ginny. They think that he may have been hit by a spell that may have been missed by the Potters there."

_Bullshit. Don't they know anything about magical cores? I knew I should have told someone more about them. Mine fractured, I should be dead. But, then again, if I had died I wouldn't be following that accursed prophecy. I guess I should try and heal it then. That is, I should try healing it after my nap._

Harry slipped back of into unconsciousness. He was seeing things, like always when he slipped this far. The streets were ablaze. Ginny Weasley was running through the flames, bounding over heaps of ruble and ducking spells. She was one of the few medics who had stayed by Harry's side throughout the war. She made it to her twin brothers. Their insides were strewn out in front of them. They were choking now on their own blood. Ginny was trying hard not to cry, but when she felt Harry place a hand on her shoulder and a tear slip off onto her uncovered neck, she broke down. There was nothing she could do as she watched her brothers slip away.

'Ginny, Harry! We have to go. There's no chance now. We-,' He cut off when he saw his two brothers lying in a pool of their blood. With a cry of rage, he leapt into the battle and incinerated a dozen Death Eaters. Everyone was apparating away. The image slowly faded.

Harry stirred slightly on the bed. It wasn't really anything new, but it still caught the attention of the family around him. Under each arm was a present. It was Christmas day. This time, however, there was someone else.

"Hey, mate," Ron said, plopping down heavily onto the edge of the bed.

"Ronald, don't do that. You could hurt him." The bossy voice of Hermione Granger cut through the air. _So they're friends._ Harry smiled inwardly, seeing as he could not really smile.

Harry listened to a conversation for a few minutes before drifting into the darkest recesses of his mind. His magical core was dangling by a thread in the back of his mind. It was bigger than he had thought, but guessed that he was just smaller. He looked around; his magical core was connected to thousands of threadlike objects. They were twitching at each of his heartbeats. He got to work, slowly making out the finer details of his core. He was working, not only to fix it, but to make it stronger. It would take a while, but that was fine.

After working for several hours, he drifted back to sleep. He saw a chamber. Large stone snakes were lining an onyx pathway. At the end of the path was the head of Salazar Slytherin. What caught his attention was a figure lay pale on the cold floor. He ran up to her. It was Ginny; she was cold to the touch. Harry heard a voice and turned around. Tom Riddle was standing there. They talked for a short period. Harry saw him say something and knew with a feeling of foreboding that he was in trouble. Harry heard something, an incredible sound. The most amazing bird he had ever seen swooped down and dropped a hat in front of him. It was the old Hogwarts sorting hat. A ruby hilt glittered into view. Harry pulled it from the hat; he fought the basilisk, and won. It only cost him one very poisonous and painful bite; the fang had fallen out at the juncture between his arm segments. Ginny woke up; they talked and the wound was healed by Fawkes, the phoenix.

Harry came back to reality. The smell of chocolate assaulted his senses. It smelled good and he wished he could have some. He went back to work. He was almost done, by doing this, not only would he have a stronger and more stable core, he would have a stronger physical attribute. _Befitting for a hero,_ he thought bemusedly.

Harry was watching as he ran thorough ten foot hedges. He dodged left then ran right. He dodged a Blast-ended Skrewt sending a quick spell at its fleshy belly. He ran forwards and towards a gate. A sphinx was blocking the way. They exchanged a few words and Harry was allowed access. He saw the cup, then Cedric, before finally spotting the large spider. He yelled a warning to Cedric. He dived under the leg that had swung at him before turning to thank Harry. Harry saw himself a while later; injured but alive and whole. He was reaching with Cedric towards the Cup. Everything around him vanished. He fell to the ground in a large, dank graveyard. He saw Cedric die; he saw as Lord Voldemort returned; he fought, and won.

"Y'know, Harry. You missed a very eventful year. 'Mione set fire to a teachers robes. Hermione! Who would have thought she'd have it in her? Then again, you wouldn't know Hermione, would you? She's bloody brilliant."

"Mind your language, Ronald!" Molly Weasley scolded as Sirius howled with laughter. At the glare he got from the Weasley matriarch he abruptly stopped.

"Sorry mum. Anyway, Quirrell, our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, decided to try to get past a giant three-headed dog. He's dead now. No one knows what that bloody beast was guarding."

"Stone," a very hoarse reply.

Ending note to my readers: I decided that it takes far too long to make 10,000 plus words per chapter. Maybe on a good day. valorousknight and his angry monkey bob.


	8. Awakening

A note to my readers: Just got back from Six Flags

A note to my readers: Just got back from Six Flags. I went on Dark Night. It's not worth a 45 minute wait. This story, though, is worth the (insert number of days you've waited for an update here) you've waited. Here it is.

Warnings: Fluff and language. Violence.

Chapter 7-Awakening

"Harry?" There was no reply. Ron looked towards his mother. She too was looking towards Harry hopefully. Ron realized that he couldn't have imagined it.

Harry gave a soft groan before slowly opening his eyes. He quickly shut his eyes before saying in a strangled voice, "Could you turn off those lights. They're too bright."

"Harry! SIRIUS! SIRIUS GET IN HERE!" Sirius was followed by about two or three mediwitches.

"What? Is Harry hurt? He didn't die did he? He-," Sirius stopped abruptly. He was staring into Harry's now open green eyes. He took three strides to the bed and picked Harry up in a bone crushing hug. The mediwitches and Harry protested, but Sirius held firmly onto Harry.

"Sirius, you're hurting him," Mrs. Weasley said. Sirius let go and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Harry."

"S' okay." With that, Harry drifted off back to sleep.

It was a few hours later when the news finally came out that Harry Potter had woken up. The reporters and photographers had made it within the first few minutes of the news. They scrambled up to the bed Harry was in. Harry was sleeping peacefully, or at least on the outside. Harry was actually having his most violent nightmare yet. One that Voldemort had forced him to see.

Curses were flying everywhere. He heard people screaming, crying; some of those people were begging for death. It was a torture chamber near Stalingrad. Ron was locked in there, as well as Hermione. They were being tortured at the moment. Ron was being thrown to the ceiling, hitting each time with a sickening crunch. They would release him and he would fall like a rag doll. They would catch him as he fell, inches above the stone surface and repeat their process multiple times. Hermione was being forced to watch the sickening display. When it was over, Ron and Hermione were placed under the imperious curse. They were told to kill each other in the most sickening way they could.

Harry awoke to a flash of white light and brilliant purple smoke. He rolled out of bed and quickly reached into his pocket, only to realize that his wand was not there. That was when he remembered where he was. He looked around at the gathered reporters and photographers. They all had a quill in hand and were asking questions. Harry's eyes became very dark as he listened to the accusations implied in the questions.

"Harry, did someone attack you and try to cover it up as a Death Eater attack?"

"Mr. Potter, Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet. Is it true that the notorious mass murderer Sirius Black is now after your head to finish the job his master couldn't?

"EVERYONE SHUT UP! Sirius was already proven innocent. There really were Death Eaters. Sirius would never do anything to hurt me and neither would the Weasleys. I do not wish to discuss why I was in a coma at this time. I would thank you all to now leave or else I might call the Aurors." Harry watched as several of the people immediately left, most of them photographers. Harry turned to the remaining people and waved his hand. The small group that was accumulated had blown back several feet, plowing back into the glass behind them. The glass shattered and the group of people fell through. They continued to be pushed back until they were all crammed in the elevator. One of them stuck out a finger and pressed the button for the first floor.

When Sirius walked in, he found Harry doubled over on the floor laughing hysterically. When asked why he was laughing so hard Harry replied with a half-hearted shrug. Harry spent the next few days within the confines of St. Mungo's recovery ward. He was let out only a week before his birthday.

Ending note to my readers: I tried to get 1000 words but I just couldn't (I sat staring at the last paragraph for a half hour). Next chapter will have all the way up to, but not including, the Hogwarts Express.

Stats: (which I forgot last time…I think)

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	9. Challenging the System

A note to my readers: That last review had me laughing

A note to my readers: That last review had me laughing. We'll have to see what happens to Harry in this chapter. Theme Parks are fun, but 112 degrees is hot. There was no fluff last chapter, so please disregard anymore fluff warnings for a while. I will be testing you from time to time so pay attention.

Warnings: Fluff, violence and other stuff.

Chapter 8: Challenging the System

Life at the Burrow was hectic. Harry Potter had just gotten out of the hospital and everyone was scrambling to get a surprise welcome home party done. Ron was in charge of games, so far consisting of Wizards Chess, Exploding Snap and Quidditch. Ginny was to help her mother in whatever she was doing. Fred and George were out getting some of Fillibusters' Famous Fireworks (and a little extra for Harry's birthday). Percy was busy with their dad to get the brooms ready. Everything was running smoothly.

Back at Potter Manor, Harry and Sirius were just sitting down to a late breakfast. Sirius was reading the paper and Harry was reading one of the many papers that Sirius had kept for him while he was in the hospital. Sirius was on the front page, muttering about how Harry had made the front page. Harry had finished most of the large pile of papers in the last half hour. Harry thanked the house elves that brought him his food and began to slowly eat.

"Sirius, I've been thinking," Harry began.

"You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"Hilarious," Harry said with a dull voice. "Worthy of a full contract that one was. Anyway, I was thinking of challenging the system."

"So you know about that then?"

"Yeah. So I need to get to Hogwarts soon so I can submit the challenge. Hopefully I can make the grades to get to my second year."

"Then you won't be with Ginny," Sirius teased.

"I'll have to risk it. Besides, I did pretty good with Ron and Hermione until the end," Harry replied in a dignified voice.

"Alright then squirt, challenge the system. No crying when you fail though. No problem. Definitely Lily's son, you are. She was the first person to challenge the system and pass since the law came into effect."

"Ah, yes. But you also have to remember I can do far more advanced things than even NEWTs. So, when are we going?"

Sirius sighed. "Alright, we'll go right now."

"Really? Thanks Sirius. And while we're at it, I want to pick up a few things."

"Like what?"

"Exactly like I said, things."

"You're not exactly answering my question."

"That's because you will go insane trying to figure it out. Also, if you knew, I wouldn't hear the end-."

"Birthday present for Ginny?" Sirius cut him off. "Judging by your expression, I'd say I was dead on."

"Jerk," Harry laughed. Sirius joined in after a moment of reproachful looks.

Later that day, Sirius asked permission to bring Harry to the castle, which was accepted. Harry explained why he came and why he felt he could do this. He was permitted to take the test on August first, the day after his birthday. They said their goodbyes to the professors and took the floo network to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Duck your head squirt," Sirius said quietly.

"Why?" Harry asked. He had already gotten through the mantelpiece.

"Reporters," he stated simply.

They made it to the back door without any problem. As they were going through, however, they were met with Rita Skeeter.

"Ah, Harry. So nice of you to join us. I was wondering when we were going to bump into each other again." Her smile was almost predatory. "Tell me Harry, back in the hospital, was that real wandless magic or was it accidental? How did you know what lay hidden inside Hogwarts even though you had never stepped one foot through those hallowed gates?"

Harry was getting more and more agitated by the second.

"How is it, Harry, that you came to be in this comatose state? Were there Death Eaters or did someone," she looked at Sirius, "attack you when your guard was down?"

"I _thought_ I told you that there _were_ Death Eaters and Sirius_ is innocent_. Now back off or I'll 'accidentally' hex you so that you look like my dinner." His words were accentuated by a sharp, biting tone that he had used back in the Order. This tone meant that you should stop what you are doing immediately and pay very close attention (or else you may wake with boils allover).

Rita Skeeter wisely backed off. "I think I have enough anyway."

"Well, that was pleasant," Sirius said, trying to lighten the mood. Harry didn't look amused. "So, ah, let's get Ginny a present." This brightened Harry's mood considerably. They stopped by Gringotts Wizard bank, and then headed out to a jewelry store.

He looked around for hours until he came to rest at a very bright, all diamond bracelet with rubies encrusted around the entire thing. "Perfect," Harry mumbled to himself.

Sirius laughed loudly. "Isn't it a little early to be getting her jewelry? It took James several years before he realized that jewelry is perfect for women."

"Besides," the man at the counter said in a rude voice, "That is far too expensive for someone as," he glanced at Harry's large clothes, "_poor _as you are."

"Alright, then. I'll just go across the street and get it." Harry left quickly and crossed the street. He told the teller exactly what he needed. He bought it and left. Aurors were waiting for him outside the store.

The man from the store walked up to him and asked him where he had gotten the money to buy the bracelet. At this point, Harry's eyes had hardened into a very solid green.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because I am missing 10,000 galleons from my store."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Because, you tramp, you stole the money and-," the man cut off abruptly. He had stared into Harry's eyes. Harry was probing his mind for any information about the missing money. He smirked in victory and turned to the Aurors.

"I believe you will find the missing money in his left shoe. It's a banknote, so it definitely fits." Harry turned and began to walk away, leaving a stunned Sirius and a handful of Aurors, who were busy wrestling the man to the ground, behind.

Sirius caught up quickly with Harry. "You're just a handful of surprises. You're a bit of a shock to most people."

"He had it coming to him," Harry stated simply. "Anyone who will put on such a performance in order to get someone into trouble deserves all that they get. Those are the worst bullies, besides the smart ones anyway." Harry smiled at his little oxymoron.

A few days later, Harry and Sirius left for the Burrow. They walked up the path, it was quiet. Harry felt a little worried, but also knew that nothing would happen to the Weasleys.

As he entered the Burrow, he was greeted by a large round of "surprise" from everyone in the room. Hermione had shown up, obviously invited by Ron, and was introduced to her. Harry smiled and thanked everyone. Dinner was served at nine, so everyone was starving and ate a lot. Harry and Ron had contested for the most, but Ron's famous appetite pulled through in the end. The evening was spent watching the fireworks that Fred and George had bought, and a few they cooked up. Harry had walked in after a few hours of stargazing. Almost everyone was asleep. The few people that were awake were the youngest people in the house. Ginny and Ron were in an intense match of wizard's chess. Hermione had a book propped open on her lap; she was rapidly turning the pages.

"So," Harry began, "what did I miss last year?"

"Well first off, Hermione and I are in Gryffindor," Ron said. "You missed a great season of Quidditch, besides the fact Slytherin won. Quirrell, our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher let a troll into the school. He's dead now; they found him in that trapdoor with that huge dog in it."

"Why were you near a trapdoor?"

"I got challenged to a wizard's duel by Draco Malfoy. He's a Slytherin, the whole lot of them think their 'hot stuff', but we all know better than that. So anyway, we were heading towards the area where the duel was supposed to take place and Filch, the caretaker, showed up. We had to run away or we would've gotten into huge trouble. Hagrid, the caretaker, he's a huge fellow he is. He got a pet _dragon_, who'd want a pet dragon?"

"Dragons are only misunderstood, Ron," Harry said. He seemed almost as if he meant it. There was silence for a large number of seconds before they all bawled out laughing.

"You didn't mean that, did you?" Ginny asked once she regained some of her composure.

"'Course I did. Who wouldn't think so?" This renewed their laughter.

"So we take Hagrid's dragon to my brother Charlie at the top of the astronomy tower. We end up getting busted by Draco Malfoy and we, along with him and Neville Longbottom, a very forgetful bloke in our year. We end up serving detention with Hagrid in the forbidden forest. We were told to find an injured unicorn. Well it _was _injured, but by the time we found it, it had died. Poor thing really."

"Those centaurs were not very helpful though, were they?" Hermione said after shutting her book. "I mean, who cares why Mars would be bright?"

"That's because Mars is the Roman god of war. When Mars is bright, it normally represents an impending battle or war."

"S' anyway, we found out that that three-headed dog we had found belonged to Hagrid (no surprise there) and that it was guarding something important. We tried to make Hagrid tell us what had happened, but it was no use. Speaking of which, how'd you know what that _thing_ was guarding?" Ron asked in a vindictive voice. Ginny and Hermione had both leaned in to hear him.

"I have my resources."

"But according to _my_ sources, you only knew about the wizarding world for about a month," Hermione said with a tone of victory.

"Dumbledore told me. He knew that if I ever found out about something being there, and I didn't know what it was, 'my father's reputation would precede me'," Harry lied.

"Oh," Hermione stated simply.

"So, mate, what happened to you? Does this mean you are starting in Ginny's year?" Hermione leaned in to hear too.

"I was in a magical coma." At their confused faces he added, "When you use magic, it drains from your magical core. Sometimes if you use too much, you can feel lightheaded or sleepy. This is normally the first sign. The second sign is normally fatigue and a large appetite. The last stage is what happened to me. I had used too much magic at one time. My magical core had fractured, almost completely breaking in two. If it had, I'd be dead." Harry was met full force by two blurs. Both girls had latched themselves around his neck and were crying openly. "Oi! I _didn't _die!"

"Harry you _prat_. You could have _died._" Ginny said, hitting his arm with every other word. "No more magic for you Potter."

"Gin- wah?" Harry murmured. "I'm sorry Gin. I didn't mean to make you worry more than you should have."

"Gin? You called me Gin."

"Yeah, I thought you'd like it. Oh well, I guess I'll have to find something else. Unless, that is, you really want me to call you _Genera_," he teased.

"Prat!" She cried before hitting him again.

"Why call me a prat, when Ron's right there," Harry insinuated. Again, the group erupted into laughter, with the exception of Ron who heartily protested.

"It's about time we all got to bed. Especially you, Harry. That'd be pretty embarrassing to miss your own birthday."

"Yeah, I guess it would. You didn't happen to get me a coat hanger by any chance did you?" Harry asked.

"No, why would you want a coat hanger."

"Tradition," Harry replied nonchalantly.

Harry woke up early the next morning. Ron was snoring soundly in his bed. Harry tiptoed down the stairs. He heard the crackling, and smelled the bacon on the top of the oven. Mrs. Weasley wasn't there, however, it was Ginny.

She dropped the plate she was holding and turned around. The plate landed unharmed on the counter.

"I was, uh, going to take this up to you so you didn't have to get out of bed," Ginny explained, her voice barely above a whisper. "I thought that this would make a nice present because I couldn't afford one." This was one of the things Harry liked about her. She didn't mind her monetary status; she was realistic about it too.

"It's alright. Breakfast sounds really good right now. Actually," he said, his stomach growling loudly, "breakfast sounds perfect."

She had a plate in front of him quickly, which was soon replaced by another. Ron came downstairs soon after Harry had started his third plate.

"Morning all. Happy birthday, Harry," Ron said as he sat down and helped himself to some bacon. "So, Ginny, you cooked breakfast? How'd you get mom to stay in bed this late?"

"Sleeping potion. Don't tell mom; she'd kill me." She turned to Ron. "If you want some food, ask. That's Harry's bacon, so back off."

"M fn, Gin." Ron looked shocked but quickly recovered.

"See, he's fine with it, so what's the problem?"

"I, Ronald Weasley, am not fine with it and you will be lucky if I don't purposefully burn your bacon!" Harry laughed and he began to choke on the bit of bacon in his mouth. "Hold still Harry," she said, swinging back her arm. Before he could decipher her words, she had brought her arm full force to his back. He spluttered, coughing a bit.

"Thanks," Harry said, tears in his eyes. "Next time, _Ron,_" he said, emphasizing Ron's name, "Use the spell anapneo. It stops someone from choking."

"And what about me?" Ginny said in indignation.

"You don't have a wand yet. Ron should know this. He eats so fast I'm sure he chokes often." This of course came from personal experience. Ron constantly choked on food during rush missions, which resulted in a few situations.

"Yeah he does," Ginny said, giggling lightly. She smiled at Harry; Harry smiled back; their eyes met.

"Oi, Potter. That's my sister. Hello? You there Potter? Ugh, forget it." Ron looked at them with disgust. They had been like this for the past several minutes. A moment later they broke their gazes, blushing profusely.

"S-so anyway, I was thinking that maybe we'd go out and play Quidditch later," Harry stuttered.

"Sounds brilliant, mate," Ron replied enthusiastically. Ginny looked a little upset, but masked it quickly with a small smile.

"What's wrong, Gin?"

"It's nothing, really. I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"You don't have a broom, do you?" Harry asked. She nodded sadly. "Don't worry about it, you can use mine. I'll use Sirius' broom."

"She doesn't know how to play though. She could get hurt," Ron said.

"For your information, Ronald, I'm perfectly capable of flying thank you very much," Ginny said indignantly.

"You've never even been on a broom, much less flew one."

"I sneak it in the middle of the night." The words had left her mouth before she had the chance to stop them, or to realize what she was saying. She clapped her hand over her mouth quickly to stop anymore incriminating words from escaping.

"Don't worry about it. I did the same thing when I was your age," Ron said soothingly.

"Yeah, that's where I got the idea."

"Oh. I guess I'm a wonderful example of a brother."

"You got that Ron," Harry laughed. "But you wouldn't be our Ron any other way."

"Glad to hear it. Okay, Gin, what position do you play?" Ron asked.

"Chaser," she replied instantly.

"Right then," Harry said, "let's go wake up a few people."

With that, Ron, Ginny and Harry woke up all the Weasley boys, including Charlie and Bill. They made it out at about 9:00.They broke up into teams of four; Harry, Ginny, Ron and Bill against Sirius, Charlie, Fred and George. They were airborne in a few minutes, having collected all the necessary paraphernalia for the game. They charmed rocks to be bludgers in commemoration of the first bludgers ever used in a game on Queerditch Marsh. The quaffle was a bunch of old clothes with a sticking charm. The snitch was a snitch though, an early present from Sirius.

"And it's Ginny with the quaffle. She passes it to Bill and he shoots, blocked by Sirius." Arthur Weasley was commentating the match. He was actually very good at it. "Sirius passes it in to Fred who passes to George and- ooh. Hit by a bludgers and it's back to Ginny. She streaks up the field, dodges bludgers, shoots and scores! Ten nothing to team Potter." By this time, neither Harry nor Charlie had seen the snitch. Another ten minutes had passed. It was 60-10 in favor of team Black. Harry suddenly pulled up to the tree line. Charlie had followed him, probably keeping an eye on him. Suddenly, Harry veered downwards, plummeting quickly towards the ground which was only 20 feet away. He pulled out of the dive barely a centimeter from the ground, the snitch in his grasp. They had won 60-160, and all it took was for Harry to fool Charlie Weasley into thinking it was a Wronski Feint.

Afterwards, there was lunch, then the cake, a large Red and Gold cake. Harry laughed. "I'm not in Gryffindor, guys. At least not yet."

"Yeah, but you've got all the Gryffindor qualities. You were brave enough to do a Wronski Feint."

"Yeah, but I'm also loyal. Wouldn't that make me a good Hufflepuff? And what about cunning? I told you about the tricks I've played on Sirius. It's perfect for Slytherin." At this Ron visibly winced. "I'm challenging the system tomorrow, so if I pass, that would make me smart. That would make me good for Ravenclaw too."

"Alright, I just hope you're not in Slytherin."

"Why not, Ron?" Harry asked.

"It's because You-Know-Who," Harry corrected him with a quick 'Voldemort' to which everyone scarce Sirius flinched, "was in Slytherin. Him and all the Death eaters. Their bad people Harry." Ron was being scolded at this point.

"Do you think I'm bad, Ron?" Harry asked quietly.

"No, of course I don't."

"Then what's the problem?"

Ron was left speechless. He looked life a fish, his chin bobbing up and down and his ears a very bright red. Harry laughed, "Wizard's chess than?" Ron nodded and grinned. It was as if the conversation had never happened. Ron ended up wining after a long 2 hour performance in which he left Harry with one piece, his king. The day was ended with another show of fireworks. Harry went to bed early that night, dreaming of things besides death and destruction. He was content at least.

Harry woke with a start the next morning. He looked at the small clock on the wall opposite of him. It was 8:00, an hour and a half from his exam. He got up and took a shower. As he made his way down the stairs, he collided with Sirius. Harry went sprawling to the floor with Sirius, both landing in a twisted heap on the floor.

"Oh good, you're awake. We have to go or you'll be late."

"I have an hour still."

"Oh we forgot to mention," Mrs. Weasley said. He turned to her. "That clock in Ron's room is slow by about 45 minutes." Harry whitened and Sirius laughed, tugging his hand and thanking Molly for the hospitality. They apparated to the Ministry of Magic. It was just as elegant as it was the first time Harry was there. They made their way to the elevator and pressed the button for the 8th floor.

"Ah Mr. Potter, we've been expecting you. You're test is ready for you, but I guess the question is, are you ready for it?" The plump middle aged man asked.

Harry nodded slightly, still white.

"Nervous?" Sirius asked.

"A little."

Ending note to my reader: This was fueled by severe writer's block, which would explain both the lateness and the massive headache. I hope you enjoyed. valorousknight and his angry monkey bob.

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	10. The Test

A note to my readers: This test is going to include practical and written portions

A note to my readers: This test is going to include practical and written portions. As always, enjoy reading, eat lots of popcorn, and review.

Chapter 9- The Test

"Whenever you're ready, Mr. Potter," the examiner, Mr. Villicus said. He was a portly man and appeared to be in his mid forties. He was balding and his neck reminded Harry of his Uncle Vernon. "Now Mr. Potter, which section would you like to start with?"

"Err, Defense. I think I'm going to hold off on History though." The man laughed at that.

"It would seem to me that you have as much interest in history as I did when I was in school."

"Really? Than why proctor it?" Harry asked lightly.

"It pays good, but only because very few people ever retake or make up the tests. Now we really should begin." Harry nodded in agreement. "Now, I would like you to cast a simple flipendo charm on the door over there."

"Flipendo," Harry said, flicking his wrist forward slightly. The open door flew closed with a loud bang and groaned as if it were under great amounts of pressure.

"Very good Mr. Potter; a very powerful spell for someone as young as you. Now we'll move on to a harder part." Mr. Villicus cast a quick disillusionment charm on a large cauldron. "Let's see a Finite now."

"Finite Incantatem," The cauldron reappeared suddenly.

"Very well done Mr. Potter. Splendid, absolutely splendid." The proctor was beaming at him now. "The last spell I want you to do is a Patronus." At Harry's stunned face he laughed. "I'm just joking boy. The last spell I want you to do is Petrificus Totalus."

"On what?"

"Me, of course. Don't worry," he added, "I've been hit with nastier curses."

"Petrificus Totalus. Mr. Villicus stiffened instantly, teetered on his feet, then went crashing backwards. Harry cast a quick Finite and helped the man to his feet.

"That was good, Mr. Potter. Now for your written portion." Harry spent the next several minutes telling about the uses of garlic, many of which included killing or warding vampires. Harry finished after about ten minutes.

"I think I'll do charms next."

"Very well then. Let's see a levitation charm. On the third feather there, to gauge your accuracy."

"Wingardium Leviosa." The third feather shot into the air quickly, lodging the tip into the ceiling.

"You're putting to much power into your spells. Try again." The feathers next to the third one had quivered, and still were, about an inch off the ground.

Harry tried again. The feather floated softly up to the ceiling. He heard clapping. The proctor was clapping slowly, methodically. "That was better, much better. Now how about Alohamora."

Harry cast the charm perfectly. The lock on the door coming undone easily. "Now how about the tickling charm."

"Rictusempra." Mr. Villicus fell to the floor laughing hysterically.

Harry was now writing another essay. Ten inches on why wand movements must be precise. The potions practical was easy too, then again it was first year material. He was now brewing a small pepper-up potion. After doing so, using it on himself, he began the essay. It was just a page report on how to properly mash and mince certain ingredients. Herbology was easy too. The practical was scraping flobberworm mucus from a tree properly. The essay was a fourteen and a half inch report on the magical properties of a bowtruckle. Transfiguration was a bit more practical, leaving out any major writing. He spent ten minutes transforming objects of various sizes into a needle. What was left, the little writing, was a two paragraph report on the dangers of transfiguration. History was all report. The next hour was dedicated to the early goblin years and the founding of the Ministry.

"That's everything, Mr. Potter. Have a wonderful rest of the holiday and don't get hurt," Mr. Villicus stressed.

"I'll try, but knowing me, I'll be six feet under by the time I'm 25." Harry left with Sirius in tow. He was done; hopefully he passed.

"Alright squirt, how'd it go?" Sirius asked once they were out of the ministry, around six at night.

"Really easy. It's like I've done it all before," Harry joked in mock shock.

"I couldn't have possibly imagined."

"We should probably go or we'll miss Ginny's birthday."

"Alright lover boy, let's go," Sirius said before dashing down the dirt road for the Weasley's. He stopped when he realized he wasn't being followed. Harry was strolling leisurely down the dirt road, humming quietly to himself. Sirius shook his head, smiling.

"Happy birthday Ginny," everyone shouted once they had finished dinner some time later.

"Thanks guys, that really means a lot to me. So…," She started hopefully. "Presents?" Everyone laughed.

"'Course you get presents," Ron said. "'S your birthday."

"So which do I open first?" She immediately chose a large package that seemed heavier than it looked. She opened it and found an ornate portable wardrobe from Sirius. She ran to him, bull rushing him to the ground. The next one was from Molly and Arthur. It was smaller than the Sirius' present. It was a box with little holes. She opened it and gasped. A small kitten was staring at her, squinting at the sudden light. It continued to stare before smiling. Ginny almost dropped the kitten in shock.

"I know what that is." Everyone turned to Ron, shocked. The rarity of the incident was shocking. "It's a kneazle."

"Actually, it's part kneazle. Got it for a brilliant price from an Irish trade," Mr. Weasley replied.

"Thanks, Dad."

"What's a kneazle," Hermione asked.

"It's a magical animal that looks like a cat. It's extremely smart and can speak at an early age."

"It can actually speak?"

"Yes. Them along with Acromantula and some Basilisk," Harry said.

"But aren't Acromantula supposed to be extinct?"

"We're getting off subject; we _are_ celebrating a birthday."

"Right, here Ginny, this is from-."

"Us!" The twins said together.

"I'm almost afraid to open it."

"You-," Fred said.

"Should be." George finished, both of them smiling mischievously.

The parcel she was holding was in the shape of a thin box. She opened it. "Err, what is it?"

"That, dear sister, is the most elite collection of fireworks from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." George explained.

"Just add water, then light it, then enjoy it!" Fred finished for him.

"YOU ARE NOT STARTING ON THAT STUPID JOKE CORPORATION AGAIN!" Mrs. Weasley screamed.

"Of course we aren't disestablishing our humble shop."

"Good," Mrs. Weasley said in a smug voice, not catching her mistake she proceded to hand Ginny the next present. "This one is from Percy."

She tore the present open and read aloud, "The book of Hogwarts Prefects and how you can become one. Thanks Percy, but I think that my area of expertise lies with my twin brothers."

"Oh no, you are not going to be like them. You are going to act like a mature young lady," Mrs. Weasley said, exasperated.

"This one is from Ron," Mr. Weasley said trying to change the subject.

She tore open the square package. It was a new chess set. "Thanks Ron. Maybe we'll break it in later?" Ron nodded eagerly. Ginny looked around. Disappointedly, she found she had no more presents. "Cake time?" Again, Ron nodded enthusiastically to the mention of food.

Harry ate in silence. Ginny kept sending hopeful glances his way. He got up from the table when he was done, leaving half the Weasley family staring after him. He walked to the back and headed straight for the woods behind the house. He knew this was where Ginny usually hid away from her brothers and that it would bother her to see him walk there. As he turned the corner, he saw Ginny getting up and heading for the door. He slid behind a tree and waited. He heard her feet on the dirt coming closer.

"Boo," Harry said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. She jumped slightly.

"You are a complete ass, Harry Potter. You didn't even get me a-," she stopped abruptly. Harry had pulled out the bracelet he had brought her. It sparkled as the moonlight caught it. "Harry, I can't except that."

"Well you better because I don't want to be the complete ass that ruined your birthday."

"Ass."

"Those are some big words for someone as young as you."

"You learn a lot when you have six brothers."

"So are you taking it or not?"

"Yes," she sighed, "I am.

"Good. Now there is something you should know about this little piece of jewelry. It works with a wand. It can find specific people programmed inside it. All you need to do is collect a hair sample from the person you wish to put on there. All your family is on there including a few of my friends who I feel may come in handy for you should you need help. This also repels most minor hexes and jinxes."

"Wow, thanks Harry."

"I got something like it for Ron, but it's not as fancy. I figured you could use a little more jewelry." Harry smiled at her.

"Thanks Harry. That was really thoughtful. If you don't mind me asking, how much was it?"

"10,000 galleons, but I think it best not to tell your mom."

"I agree. She'd die of a heart attack."

Ending note to my readers: Whew, that was fun. Not as much as the last chapter but hey. Enjoy. I'm not going to be able to write again until Saturday the 26th because I'm working the Burlington County Farm Fair. Funnel cake is good. ;) valorousknight and his angry monkey bob, who is mine and Dane Cook's favorite kind.

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	11. Diagon Alley

A note to my readers: This will go all the way to the first day of classes

A note to my readers: Diagon Alley day. As always, enjoy and R&R.

Chapter 10- Diagon Alley

It had been a few days since Ginny's birthday. After arguing repeatedly with Mrs. Weasley (Harry insisting the bracelet only cost 50 galleons) Ginny was finally told she could keep the bracelet.

Today was the day they were going to Diagon Alley. Ginny, having gotten her letter two days previous was still jumping for joy. She was finally going to be at Hogwarts. She was going to learn magic, and some hexes for payback. She was going to Hogwarts and she was determined to show her brothers she was better than them.

"Alright everyone, let's go." Arthur Weasley led everyone to the fireplace. "Harry, you first."

."Alright. See you lot there then." With that, Harry threw the floo powder in through the grate, stepped into the emerald green flames and said Diagon Alley. Harry landed gracefully on his feet, only to find himself flat on the ground moments later. The pileup continued until Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came through the wrought iron gate in Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley immediately started casting healing charms on whoever she could reach.

"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked once everyone was up.

"Yeah, sorry. It would seem we are all graceful when it comes to floo powder. Honestly though, I'm shocked I landed on my feet."

"I'm shocked you didn't move."

"Although, you have to admit the look on Percy's face was priceless," Harry said, chuckling a bit.

"He's just not used to falling down like that. Actually I don't think he's used to anything human, besides food and drink."

"And that seems to be all you know, Ronald," Percy replied indignantly.

"C'mon you lot. I want to get my wand now. Let's _go_," she said, tugging on Harry and Ron's sleeves. Both boys were pulled behind her. She turned around and began forcing them out the door and towards Ollivander's.

"We really need to go to Gringotts first," Harry said in an amused voice.

"Oh, right, I forgot about Gringotts," Ginny said, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"S' okay. Just don't let it happen again," Harry said in a strict tone, though his eyes danced merrily. They set off towards Gringotts, the rest of the Weasleys completely oblivious.

They entered the Gringotts, which is run by the Goblin nation. After the seventh war of the Goblin tribes, they claimed independence from the Wizarding race but agreed to help them on a financial basis. The ties holding the two nations together were thinning rapidly and had merely depleted once the eighth war started, which was unfortunately after Voldemort gained the ministry. Of course, Fudge was a major cause of it.

"Err, hello?" Harry said to the goblin at the head of the room.

"What can I do for you young Mr. Potter?"

"We need to go down to our Vaults, please." The goblin, Griphook, studied him for a moment.

"Very well. And Mr. Potter, we must go over your assets as soon as possible as there are a few things we wish to discuss."

"Agreeable. The 29th is a great day for me. That is if it's available."

"The Goblin nation will forever be prepared for your arrival."

The children, led by Griphook, were taken to an old mine cart. "Who's first then?" Griphook asked, baring his pointed teeth.

"We'll go first," Ron said. They boarded the car and were soon transported past stalagmites and stalactites, racing around tight corners and rising and plummeting through the narrow walls of the Gringotts underground. The children were green-faced as they stepped out of the car.

"Weasley family vault," Griphook said as they moved towards a small stone slab in the wall. From the information the Goblins told him, each door was significant to the ranking of the family. The rankings determine your effects on society and only pureblood families or families with strong roots are ranked accordingly. Out of the 50 remaining families, the Weasleys were the last. Harry's family was eighth, followed by the Longbottom family and the Malfoy family.

'I should make sure that I use this to my advantage,' Harry thought to himself. The four Hogwarts founders each have a vault ranked second through fifth, which were unmovable, or could not be surpassed in the ranking system. Gryffindor had the second vault; an ornate gold and ruby door with a lion in honor of the house he created. Slytherin had the third with an equally ornate silver and emerald door; a snake around the edges. The fourth went to Ravenclaw, adorned with Sapphires and Silver; an Eagle perched at the entrance. The fifth went to Hufflepuff, her door onyx and topaz, a badger as the keyhole. The first one went to Merlin; blue and white swirls appeared to dance around the door, tempting robbers to touch it.

Harry, Ron and Ginny went into the vault. A lot of the floor was occupied by piles and piles of dust. A small pile of gold littered the corner of the vault. Only one galleon could be seen through the few sickles. Ron scooped up the whole pile into a bag. The travel to Harry's vault was slow for him. Ron and Ginny seemed a little enthusiastic about seeing it. He remembered there being more than that in the Weasleys vault. When they got there Harry quickly loaded his bag with handfuls of coins, giving him a strange sense of déjà vu. Ron and Ginny just stared in awe as the marble doors closed.

"Where to first?"

"Well, I've done everything, but I wouldn't mind Flourish and Blotts. Have you seen Lockhart? Absolutely gorgeous!" The three children turned to see Hermione standing there smiling at them.

"Hey Hermione, you remember Harry?" She nodded. "This is my sister Ginny."

"We've met, at the hospital," Hermione said.

"And you were there at Harry's party," Ginny said smiling.

"Are you starting Hogwarts? I could help you out; maybe give you a time table to keep you on track? And you, Harry. You're coming this year too. Did you pass that test? Does that mean that we'll be in the same year? You'll probably need a time table too."

"Hermione, breathe," Ron said, looking exasperated and amused. Hermione flushed slightly at that.

"How about we do Ollivander's?" Ginny said loudly.

"Alright, Ollivander's," Harry said. They walked their way back to Ollivander's. When they entered the shop they were met with old gray eyes.

"Mr. Potter it is good to see you. How is that wand treating you?" Mr. Ollivander rasped.

"Wonderfully, thank you."

"Another Weasley eh?" He turned to Ginny. "Let's try this one." He handed Ginny an oak wand. "Nine inches, oak with a unicorn hair core." She waved it once. The pile of boxes stacked at the back of the shop exploded in a shower of dust. "No not at all. She's a powerful one; wouldn't want to get on her bad side. Try this, eleven inches, willow, dragon heartstring core which seems to run in the family. She waved the new wand. Harry's glasses flew off and into her hand, after which Harry politely held out his hand.

"Sorry Harry."

"Yeah, I'm sure you are. You make one evil witch." Harry put on his glasses to see that Ginny was glaring at him. "I was kidding."

"Yeah, I'm sure you were."

"Let's try this one then. It's a great likeness to the one Mr. Potter has."

"I thought you said Fawkes only gave one tail feather besides mine."

"Yes, but Professor Dumbledore and Fawkes both thought it was a good idea to give one more." He hinted something that Harry couldn't quite place.

'I'll have to ask Dumbledore,' he mused. Ginny waved the wand which proceeded to emit gold sparks that felt cooler than they looked.

"It would seem that this wand suits you. You, like Mr. Potter are destined for great things.

They exited the shop after paying for the wand, which Harry insisted he pay for. They made their way to the apothecary. Ginny got her cauldron and a few potions ingredients before making their way to Flourish and Blotts. Harry saw the familiar sign that said:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

_MAGICAL ME_

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

With a feeling of dread, Harry looked at his watch. It was 2:00. He walked inside the packed store and was ushered by Ron, Hermione and Ginny over to Mrs. Weasley. She was very close to the front, closer than last time.

"Out of the way little girl, this is for the Daily Prophet," the photographer said, almost shoving her out of the way.

"Watch it," Harry said, a little loudly as Ginny stumbled back. Lockhart looked up; he saw Harry and then Harry's scar.

"Merlin's beard, it's Harry Potter. He seized Harry by the front of his shirt, pulling him forward. He wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder and smiled at the camera. Harry groaned audibly when he saw Lockhart open his mouth.

"When young Harry here stepped into my shop, he thought that he would be leaving here with just my autobiography, but he will be leaving with not only that but my entire collection." The audience clapped and the cameraman was clicking away madly.

"I don't want it, thanks. I'll buy it myself like everyone else. Now if you would be so kind as to get your arm out from around me," Harry said, glaring at Lockhart.

"Nonsense Harry, think of it as a charitable act from one celebrity to another."

"If this is what a celebrity is like then I don't want to be one. Thanks anyway. Besides, I've read your books. How is it that in between _Wanderings with Werewolves_ and _Year with a Yeti_ you say a week had gone by, but in your autobiography you state that three months had gone by?"

"I- what?" He stammered dumbly. He looked for a moment like a child caught taking a cookie before putting on a blinding smile. "I believe you must be mistaken." He looked around. A number of people had taken out there books and were studying them. "Err, well. Anyway, young Harry here will not only be getting my autobiography, _Magical Me,_ but he will be getting the real me. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts this year." The crowd applauded.

Harry heard Ron snort. "Good luck, a Defense teacher has never been there for more than a year."

"Yeah, that's only because Voldemort got turned down for the job," Harry put in. Everyone, minus Hermione's parents gasped. "Now let go," Harry said forcefully. Lockhart let go and Harry made his way to the exit.

"I can't believe we'll have Lockhart this year as Defense teacher," Ron said once they escaped the earshot of Lockhart.

"He's probably the most competent person for the job." Hermione said.

"He's an idiot Hermione, he's like Malfoy."

"At least I'm not poor, Weasley." A boy, stark white with blond hair appeared on the stairs next to them.

"At least _he_ could beat you in a duel."

"I didn't ask for your opinion mudblood." Most of the people who heard him stared in shock. "I didn't come here to talk to either of you though. Potter, you look like you could use some help sorting between good and bad when involving company."

"I could say the same. You really need to work on your attitude before it gets you killed."

"You have a problem with my attitude, Potter?" Malfoy looked murderously at Harry.

"Yeah, you hang around with, from what I've heard, the biggest and fattest idiots at Hogwarts. Your father aided in the killing of my family. Now why would I want to be around someone who is growing up to be just like their father?"

"Now Draco, I do hope you're playing nice." Lucius Malfoy was standing in all his 'magnificent glory' at the front of the shop.

"Potter thinks he's better than us."

"Really? And why would you think that?" Lucius Malfoy turned his cold eyes on Harry.

"Besides the fact that you a sadistic Death Eater who got away with it? According to the old laws that are still in effect, and according to our rankings, I along with the Longbottom family, the four founders of Hogwarts, Merlin, the Bones family and the Dumbledore family surpass you in all ways." With that said, Harry turned and left, followed by a grinning Ron, a stunned Hermione and Ginny. As he left he could practically hear Lucius Malfoy fuming.

Ending note to my readers: Well that was more writers block right there. I've got to go light a teddy bear on fire… valorousknight and his angry monkey bob, who was sick today with a slight fever.

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	12. Hogwarts

A note to my readers: Next Chapter, not chappy, chappie, chappe or whatever crap you say… review

A note to my readers: Next Chapter, not chappy, chappie, chappe or whatever crap you say… review. Constructively criticize my work, bash it if you dare, but at least read it first.

Chapter 11- Hogwarts

The end of the summer was just around the corner. Harry had already packed his bags, ready for the trip to Hogwarts. Ron kept telling him that he should wait because it's pointless now. Harry couldn't find the logic in that statement. It was the 29th now and Harry was preparing a trip with Sirius to Gringotts.

"I don't know if I can wait for three years. I could hardly wait for three months," Harry confided to Sirius while walking through Diagon Alley. He was talking about Ginny of course.

"I have faith in you. Your patient, maybe even as patient as Dumbledore. Are you sure your James' son?" He added as an afterthought.

"If my recklessness has anything to prove then yes, I am my father's son." They entered Gringotts and headed to a desk on the left. "I am here to speak to someone about the assets of my vault."

"Ah yes Mr. Potter, we've been expecting you. Please, this way." They followed the goblin into a large hallway, making a left here and a right there. Harry was eventually lost. They stopped at a door labeled, 'Daggerarm'. "Mr. Daggerarm has worked here for nearly four decades. He is the person you are here to see today."

"Thank you." Harry and Sirius walked into a large office. It was full of books, so much so that it put the Hogwarts library to shame.

"Welcome Mr. Potter." A stack of books moved to reveal an ancient looking goblin. "You are here to see the Potter Family Assets?"

"But you have to be of age," Sirius said.

"Yes, but here, we count your mental age." He turned to Harry looking rather grim. "Mr. Potter, take a look at this book." He opened it to a page in the center. It read:

_Circa 240 AD: Myrddin sends Morgana forty years into the past. Morgana attempts to kill a younger version of Myrddin. Myrddin escapes._

_Circa 940 AD: Salazar Slytherin goes back to 918 AD. Builds the Chamber of Secrets and places a young basilisk inside._

_2008 AD: Harry Potter goes back to 1991 AD. Pending._

"Err, I can explain."

"Mr. Potter, if I ever find out that you came back for monetary reasons, this will no longer read 'pending'. You can be sure that you never reach the aforementioned date if I find out that your profits changed drastically."

"Are you threatening him?" Sirius asked loudly. Harry put his hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"What about a job? I mean, last time I couldn't get one." At the goblin's questioning look, he added. "Voldemort will come back soon, stronger than ever. We all need to be prepared. The goblin nation will fall if they cannot overcome their differences with wizards before the war begins. You know this, you have seen it." Harry flipped to a more detailed page in the book.

Daggerarm fixed Harry with a steely gaze. "Now Mr. Potter," he said after a moment of pause, "Here are your family's assets; all their properties and shares are compiled, rather detailed, in this book. Along with that are your parents' will. A large sum of money is included and a number of books that have been transferred to the house."

"Exactly how much?"

"You have approximately 183,921,330,495 Galleons, 132,000,007 Sickles and 196,237,455,000 knuts. You also have shares in all the Diagon Alley shops including the leaky cauldron. You have shares in the almost unknown Firebolt broom company, which you are required to use if you ever play Quidditch in front of a large audience." At Harry's questioning look he continued, "It's for promotional reasons mostly. They are a very controversial company because they promise so much. Your father came to me personally to invest in the small company. You also received shares to the Nimbus Company and the Prophet. You own most of the shares for the Prophet and Firebolt Company."

"That's a lot to have," his grin widening, he turned to Sirius, "you tell no one what I am about to do." Sirius nodded. "If I could, I would like to have twenty percent of my galleons sent into the Weasley Vault anonymously." At the goblins nod, Harry smiled. "Thank you. I think that about covers it for today."

The next few days passed by quickly. Excited to be going back to his beloved, not destroyed home, Harry was up at around five A.M. September first. He walked downstairs quietly. Not surprisingly, Ginny was also awake. She was staring out the window towards the sun, which was rising slowly. The floor creaked under him and Ginny started.

"Sorry," he mumbled in apology.

"Good morning. I guess you're nervous too?" She looked a little pale.

"Why would I be nervous?"

"Well, aren't you getting your results today? And we're getting sorted. Ron told me you have to fight a teacher. I don't know many spells. What if I screw up and I can't be sorted? What if no one likes me?" Harry laughed, he couldn't help it. He continued to laugh until his sides hurt. He stopped abruptly at the very Molly Weasley-ish glare he was getting.

"Sorry, but your worked up over nothing. Ron's a prat; you only have to put on a hat that yells out where you go. It's no big deal, really." She was still glaring. "Besides, who wouldn't like you? You're the nicest person I know. And I'm sure that wand of yours will be dead useful in Defense."

"That's easy for you to say. You're the boy-who-lived. You'll have all the girls hanging off of you, all the students will want to be your friend. There would be no time for 'nice Ginny' because they'll be too busy with you." The words had left her mouth as quickly as she thought of them. She bolted, leaving a stunned Harry staring at the spot she was just in. Deciding it would be best if he talk to her, he ran up the stairs. He heard her bedroom door slam. He walked up to the door, straining to listen. He could hear the muffled sobs from inside the room. He knocked.

"Ginny, can we talk." No response accompanied his lingering question. He waved his hand at the door, listening with satisfaction as the tumblers turned. He opened the door to find Ginny on her bed, face buried in her pillows, a large wet stain spreading around it. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and looked up at him. Then, she jumped onto him, latching around his waist and crying openly into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated again and again. "I-I don't know what c-came over me. I'm sorry," she repeated for the umpteenth time.

"It's okay, you were just scared. People do strange things when they're scared. They snap easily too." He was thinking about a time when Ginny had been taken hostage, how he had lost control and killed several Death Eaters coming to her rescue. They must have sat there for hours talking and watching the sunrise.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" The whole house was awake for sure. Heads poked out of bedrooms and stared at him as he walked the 'green mile'. "EXPLAIN!" She said, thrusting a letter under his nose. He opened it and read:

_Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Weasley,_

_A sum of 36,784,266,099 Galleons has been transferred into your vault by an anonymous beneficiary. Please enclose all signatures and forms regarding this transfer and send to Gringotts bank within the end of the month._

_Thank you,_

_Daggerarm, head of Gringotts transfer and archiving unit_

"Mrs. Weasley, I don't mean to sound rude, but this could easily be anyone else."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT INNOCENT TALK. TAKE IT BACK, WE DON'T WANT IT."

Sighing, Harry said, "I'm sure that you can keep it, think of it as payment for taking care of me."

"BUT THAT'S ALMOST 37 BILLION GALLEONS."

"Which obviously means that I have more than that. It's far more than I could possibly use in twenty lifetimes. You and your family deserve it. You've worked hard and have been true supporters of the light. You shouldn't be bested by someone as simple minded as the Malfoy family."

"I DON'T CARE, TAKE-," Harry cut her off.

"I can't Mrs. Weasley," he lied. "You just have to accept it and sign those papers." Mrs. Weasley gave him a very stern gaze before bursting into tears and hugging him tightly. Over her shoulder, he could see the rest of the family standing there open-mouthed, staring at him. Fred and George were staring at him like a god, bowing down every few seconds and smiling mischievously. Sensing her family, Mrs. Weasley composed herself enough to tell the twins they weren't going to buy them a shop. Ron looked a little red.

"I don't mean to break up this party, but if we don't leave, we'll miss the train," Harry stated calmly. The Weasleys made a mad scramble to find their belongings, Harry watching with interest while sitting upon his own luggage. They took a taxi, or four, to King's Cross Station and dashed to the brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

"Percy, quickly now." With a curt nod, Percy disappeared through the wall. "Fred, George," They too disappeared. "Ginny, with me and your mother. Boys, will you be alright?"

"Definitely," Harry and Ron chorused as Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ran through the barrier.

"Ready?" Harry looked at the barrier for a moment, scanning it. It had a force field on it. He ran towards the barrier, bracing himself. He collided with the solid brick wall full force, Ron careening towards him. Ron stopped just in time. Standing up and brushing himself off, Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and placed his luggage neatly on the trolley, telling the security guard that he had lost control.

"What happened, Harry? Are you alright?" Ron looked worried.

"I'm fine, the barrier sealed itself. The trains gone anyway. We should wait for your parents here."

"But what if they can't get out? What if they're trapped inside?"

"Honestly Ron, you worry too much. Are they magic or not? They can just apparate out."

"Oh, yeah, right." Sure enough, a few moments later, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley appeared.

"Thank goodness you're all right," Mrs. Weasley cried.

"Actually Mrs. Weasley, I'm half left." He stuck out his left arm and leg to prove his point, losing balance in the process and landing on his backside.

"Well come on, we'll floo you to Hogwarts." Ron grinned at Harry. They took a taxi back to the Burrow and Mr. Weasley went straight to the fireplace.

"Ron, can you promise me one thing?" At his nod, Harry continued. "If I get sorted into another house, we're still mates. I mean, if I get into Slytherin or something." Harry looked nervous.

Ron would have laughed, had it not been for the seriousness in Harry's voice. "Of course, it would be fun to have a good guy in Slytherin for a change. I've got your back, for all that it's worth."

"Thanks Ron. That really means a lot to me."

"Alright boys, let's go." Stepping into the fireplace, Harry said "Hogwarts" and was whisked away. He was greeted in the antechamber behind the Great Hall by almost the entire staff.

"Mr. Potter, the man of the hour," Dumbledore said. At Harry's questioning look, Dumbledore handed him a piece of paper. Opening it he saw that his name was clearly printed along the top, along with birth information and a line that read: Hogwarts Make-Up Test Scores.

Defense Against the Dark Arts-

Practical-O

Written-O

Herbology-

Practical-O

Written-E

Potions-

Practical-O

Written-O

Transfiguration

Practical-E

Written-O

Charms

Practical-E

Written-E

"I think your scores speak for themselves. Welcome to your second year at Hogwarts." A few teachers clapped. He noticed his least favorite, oily haired teacher, Snape was even clapping.

"Err, thanks. It was mostly Ron and Hermione's help though."

"I am surprised that you would ask for help from Weasley. He is very poor at following directions in my class, despite it being right under his nose." A few teachers scolded him, Dumbledore giving him a stern look himself.

"Very poor to insult a student, especially one who has the potential to become a great potions master." Snape looked a little taken aback by Harry. Snape just sneered and put on his cold façade. Ron looked at him gratefully.

"Now that we have that out of the way, could you two explain why it is that you missed the train ride?" Harry and Ron both shrugged. Snape stepped forward and looked down his crooked nose towards them.

"Perhaps Potter didn't want to make a normal entrance. Perhaps he felt as if he needed to," he paused, searching for the right words, "liven things up a bit?"

"That is preposterous," an elderly witch began. It was the head of Gryffindor house, Minerva McGonagall. "Albus-."

"Minerva is right Severus; you have no right to vindicate a student on false accusations. Now, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, I will place your things in the proper place. You may go explore the castle until the guests arrive at which point I want you, Mr. Weasley, to be in your robes and at your seat. Mr. Potter, you will wait over there," he pointed at the Entrance Hall, "with the rest of the first years. You must also be in your robes. Now go, enjoy yourselves."

Ending note to my readers: Like it? Review it? Good boy, here's a doggy treat, or a monkey treat (bob). Now then REVIEW pres that button d!#! valorousknight and his angry monkey bob, who will never be capitalized until I remember to, besides right now because then this ramble would be pointless. I will stop talking, or typing I guess you could say, right now, sans the stats, which are below.

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	13. Day 1

A note to my readers: … R&R… that will be all

A note to my readers: … R&R… that will be all.

Chapter 12- Day 1

"And over there is the Defense classroom. Can you remember all this?" Ron asked. He had been drilling Harry for the past few hours on where each class was located.

"Yeah I got it."

"We should probably get going or we'll be late. I'll see you later." Ron threw on his robes and headed to the Great Hall. In a matter of minutes, Harry would be sorted. He walked up to the group of first years. McGonagall was telling the students how they were going to be sorted.

"Thank you for joining us Mr. Potter." A few people turned their heads and stared. Harry shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. "Now as I was saying, you will be sorted into one of four houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin," she said Slytherin with an air of loathing. "Now if you could all follow me."

Harry, along with the first years were lead to the three legged stool, the Sorting Hat perched on top, swaying as it began to sing. Harry tuned it out, now slightly nervous that Ron might have lied. Harry knew that the hat would attempt to put him in Slytherin.

"Harry? Where were you?" Ginny had appeared by his side, looking equally as nervous.

"The barrier wouldn't open, me and Ron both tried but failed to get through."

"Well try harder next time. I was forced to sit with Michael Corner, a real playboy in the making."

"Sorry."

"Potter, Harry." Harry barely registered his name being called. Ginny dug her elbow into his ribs to get his attention. Apprehension dawned on his face and he scrambled towards the stool amidst whispers and pointing. Muttering an apology to McGonagall, Harry sat down on the stool and waited for the hat to be placed on his head.

The hat was placed on his head and for a moment he thought the whole castle could hear his heart thumping against his chest. "Welcome back Mr. Potter. I can easily say that you don't belong in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. You have to distinct abilities that seem to be polar opposites. You are courageous, you have stared death in the face time and time again. You aren't from this time." Harry was worried that everyone would hear. "Do not worry, they cannot hear. You are cunning, a master thief it would seem."

"It comes in handy when you get right down to it. I couldn't kill Voldemort anyway."

"You did well in Gryffindor, but perhaps you would do better in Slytherin?" The hat was asking him, not telling him. Harry thought for a moment. Did he really want to be a Slytherin? 'No,' he thought to himself. I don't want to be a Slytherin.

"Unfortunately Mr. Potter, it is not up to you. I will place you with the people you truly belong with." The hat was speaking openly now. "Slytherin is not a bad choice for you. But your bravery outmatches your cunning. Although," it said, dropping its voice again. "Perhaps a new start in a new place would help. Not all wizards who leave Hogwarts a Slytherin leave evil."

"I don't care, I don't know what my friends would say if I were in Slytherin."

"If they are truly your friends, then they will not care where you are."

"But what about Ginny?"

"What about her? Ah your lovely girlfriend. I cannot make any promises that she will be yours. You must trust my judgment."

"Alright," Harry said in defeat.

"SLYTHERIN." Nobody moved, nobody blinked. Did they hear correctly, the vanquisher of the Dark Lord a Slytherin? It was not possible. Harry turned to Ron, surprised to see Ron was smiling lightly at him, encouraging him to go to his table. He got up slowly and moved to a seat between Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy bent over into Harry's ear. "Maybe you should have taken up my offer, Potter?"

"Nah, you should take up mine." At Malfoy's questioning glance, he added, "join my group. You could learn a lot about what differentiates wizards Malfoy." Malfoy was turning red fast.

"Weasley, Ginerva." She was shaking herself. Harry could see the hat on her head talking to her. She was quivering slightly.

"Now, now Ms. Weasley. It would do both of us no good to separate you from your family. GRYFFINDOR!" Ginny looked relieved but visibly shaken. Harry wondered if she had been offered to another house, even Slytherin.

"Now that we are all situated," Dumbledore said after the last student was sorted. "As everyone should know, the Forbidden Forrest is out of bounds to all students. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind everyone that any Zonkos products are banned and the same goes for all Weasley products." His eyes sparkling, he turned towards the twins. Both twins were saying something about 'honorable mentions'. "Now before we all start eating, there is one more thing I wish to discuss. Harry Potter challenged the system early August. This means that he took the first year test late due to injury. Not only did he pass and become a second year, he also had the highest scores in Potions and Defense since the school introduced final tests in 1884." Harry was stunned. He heard a few people claim that he must have cheated. "Now, let's dig in." With a wave of his hand, food magically appeared onto the plates. Harry wasted no time in serving himself to a rather large piece of roasted chicken.

A few hours later, Harry, along with the first years, walked down to the dungeons. He was given the password, _carcer patefacio._ He went strait to his bed, laid down, and fell asleep.

It was early the next morning when Harry woke up. He got up silently and made his way out of the dungeons. He went to the Entrance Hall and exited the large double doors. He began jogging, it was crisp in the early morning and it felt good to be out there. The sun was up by the time he was finished. Casting a quick cooling charm and cleansing charm on himself, he walked inside the Great Hall. He made a beeline straight for the Gryffindor table. Ron saw him and patted the seat next to him. A few people whispered 'traitor' to him, but he ignored them.

"Hey Ron."

"Hi Harry." They were soon joined by Ginny. She looked rather sleepy.

"Good morning Ron. Hi Harry, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was going to steal some eggs and toast." He held up his plate of eggs and toast to prove his point. Unfortunately for him, his large stack of toast teetered cautiously and tumbled into his eggs, which splattered him, Ron, and Ginny. They stared at one another for a few seconds before laughing uproariously.

"So, Harry. Did the hat force you to be in Slytherin?" Harry nodded. "It gave me the offer, but I told him no."

"Aw, you didn't want to stay with me?" He put on a mock pout and Ginny playfully slapped his arm, giggling at his silly antics. "I guess I should write Sirius later today."

"Mr. Potter," a cold voice drawled out behind him. "It is not customary for students to sit at a table that is not their own houses'. Nevertheless, here is your timetable. I expect you to be on time to my class and be well mannered like every other Slytherin."

"Yes, sir." Harry looked at his timetable. He had double Charms with Ravenclaw and double Defense with Gryffindor on Mondays. On Tuesday he had double Potions with Gryffindor and double Herbology with Ravenclaw. Wednesdays, he had Potions with Hufflepuff and Defense with Ravenclaw. Thursdays were seemingly difficult. He had Charms with the Hufflepuffs and Defense with the Gryffindors. After lunch he had double Potions with the Gryffindors and double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. He had a half hour break before having Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. Friday he had double Transfiguration with Ravenclaw, Defense with Ravenclaw and Charms with Gryffindor. Today was Tuesday so he made his way to the dungeons with Ron and Hermione.

Harry sat down with Ron at a table near the back of the room. Snape made his entrance, or more likely appearance, from the shadows in the back of the class.

"Welcome back to Potions. For those of you who still do not appreciate the finer arts of Potion making, leave before I waste my time." Snape looked meaningfully at Neville before turning back to the class. "How about a little pop quiz. Ms. Granger, you are excluded. We all know you know _everything_ about this class. Mr. Potter, what would you get if you mixed flobberworm mucus with wiggenweld bark?"

"A wiggenweld potion, sir."

Snape stared at him for a moment, contemplating his options before saying, "five points to Slytherin." Harry was shocked that Snape gave him points. The lesson presumed normally afterwards.

After Herbology, Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table. "Ron, why would you still be friends with me? I mean, you hate Slytherins."

"Yeah, but I've known you for long enough to realize your not a sadistic sod."

"Thanks, but why you Ginny?"

Ginny turned a deep crimson and stumbled to find the right words. Ron asked her if she swallowed something wrong while Harry laughed quietly to himself. He went to bed that night, wondering why he felt he forgot something. 'Maybe a Rememberall would help,' he thought. He drifted off into a deep sleep.

Ending note to my readers: Like it or Loathe it? Review by pressing that ever so crucial button at the bottom of your screen. valorousknight and his angry monkey bob, who is sick, like me, but will live to see another review.

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	14. Worry

A note to my readers: Hi

A note to my readers: Hi! (Yes I am probably the craziest person you know.)

Chapter 13- Worry

Harry was worried. Not because he was only weeks away from his first Quidditch match of the season, (he had made the team easily), but because he had forgotten something gravely important. The diary was still nowhere to be found and Ginny Weasley was acting more distant, but so was Hermione. He had confronted both, each insisting that they were bogged down with homework. No one else he knew was acting off, except Malfoy.

The diary of Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, is a horcrux. A horcrux is, simply put, a piece of one's soul. The diary acts on its own accord when written in, possessing the writer and opening the formidable Chamber of secrets. The imprint on the diary was a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle.

Tomorrow was Halloween, meaning it would be the first time the Chamber would be opened. Harry planned a stakeout, with help from Professor Dumbledore. Professor Dumbledore would excuse himself after his speech, claiming he had to use the bathrooms. He would then walk to the tapestry of Wendelin the Weird, behind which was a secret passage to the second floor. He would then meet Harry in the bathroom stall directly opposite the Chamber's entrance.

Harry sighed, contemplating what he should do. Dumbledore had thought it would be a good idea to start the Dueling Club earlier than last time. It was today, and Harry was expecting the same show of stupidity from Lockhart as last time. Harry sighed again.

It was a few hours later, after lunch, when the students were escorted to the Dueling Club. Lockhart was there, as well as Snape. A large number of the teachers had come to watch the events unfold.

"Welcome children," Lockhart began, bright teeth showing blindingly, "to the Dueling Club. Professor Dumbledore asked me and Professor Snape to show you a demonstration on how to defend yourself. But," he said, shouting, "do not fear. We will not be permanently," again he flashed his teeth a flash of light appeared, marking Colin Creevey's appearance, "harmed. No, today you will learn how to disband your opponent by simple spells, just like I did-." Snape threw a hex at him and Lockhart was sent flying.

There was another snap and a flash of light. "If you would pay attention to your duel _Professor_," Snape said with a sneer, "then you might not have to be thrown about like a rag doll. Of course, you should know all about that." Harry smiled; it was great to see Snape doing something good. Well, good enough anyway. Harry had taken to respecting the man since coming to school. He was a very avid student and easily rivaled Hermione in all the classes.

Harry was snapped out of his revere by a large crashing sound. Lockhart had been sent through a table.

"Good idea, showing them that spell," he said while shakily getting to his feet. "Now children, pair up and practice that spell."

Harry immediately set to work with Ron, only to be stopped by Snape. "I don't think so, Potter. No inter-house dueling, it may cause some major damage." It seemed that every time that Snape did something good, he balanced it out with something horrible.

"Malfoy," Snape yelled, "work with Mr. Potter here." Word had spread of the malcontent between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Everyone stopped to watch the duel.

"I'll make a deal with you, Potter," Malfoy said, bowing. Harry nodded and also bowed. "If you can defeat me, I'll join you."

"Why?"

"Because, we Slytherins only follow the best. Prove yourself better than me and I will join you." Harry nodded again. Both of them rose, turned around and started walking ten paces.

"Oh, and I should warn you, Potter. My father gave me the best instructors before I got here. I know a lot of spells," he called over his shoulder.

"I'm looking forward to it," Harry shouted back.

"Confundus, Cofringo." Draco had begun casting spells quickly, one after the other. The first to hit Harry dead on. Harry crumpled into a heap on the floor. A few people yelled before Harry disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Yield?" A voice behind Malfoy said calmly. Harry Potter was directly behind Malfoy, wand at his neck, the whisper of a spell on his breath.

"I yield, Potter." Malfoy dropped his wand in defeat. A few people clapped, a few claimed that he apparated (Hermione quickly shooting down the idea by informing everyone that you can't apparate in or out of Hogwarts, according to _Hogwarts: A History_).

"Welcome to the club," Harry said into his ear. He was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Harry walked briskly over to Ron and whispered in his ear. Ron's own grin was quickly replaced by a frown. He turned towards Harry, face red.

"He is not going to be anywhere within ten yards away from me, Potter. You can forget that idea." Ron's yelling carried throughout the room.

The next day started in a light drizzle. By the end of classes, a full blown storm. A few students were anxious, obviously remembering the Troll attack the previous year. Most students were talking about the duel between Harry and Malfoy or the sudden companionship between the two.

Harry wasn't able to hear any of this though. In fact, he wasn't in the Great Hall during the feast. He was in the second floor girls bathroom with Professor Dumbledore. He heard footsteps echoing off the walls. He heard someone begin to hiss and threw open the stall door.

Ending note to my readers: Sorry it's so short. I tried to make it longer but writers' block sucks like… This has more plot building in it, and suspense and such. valorousknight and his angry monkey, bob, who is climbing the non-existent tree in my back yard and eating the bananas on top. **VISIT MY FORUM AND REVIEW MY STORY!!**

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	15. The Chamber

A note to my readers: My forum is open

A note to my readers: My forum is open. Make suggestions there. R&R. I only have one review per every 263 hits. Special thanks to Professor Chris for accepting the invitation to become an administrator at my forum, Shattered Hope.

Chapter 14- The Chamber

The entrance was closing when Harry opened the door. He saw wisps of long red hair.

'_Ginny'_, he thought.

He dove in after her, shouting to Dumbledore, "Keep everyone in the Great Hall." He reached the bottom and saw her turning a corner. He ran after her, bones crunching underneath his feet.

"Ginny!" He reached out for her, grabbing her arm. He pulled her in a hug while pinning her arms to her side. She elbowed him in the stomach. He fell backwards, tumbling into the dusty, bone covered ground within the Chamber's antechamber. There was a small whooshing sound and a wand was pointed at Harry's neck.

"Stay away, boy. If you don't, you will die." The voice was Ginny's, but the malice and cruelty was not. Her eyes flared; they were a deep crimson.

"_Stay away from her, Tom." _Harry hissed venomously.

Riddle looked stunned for a moment. "You know of me?"

"And of your Horcruxes."

"But how could you possibly know what I strived to keep quiet for decades?" Riddle was looking angry again, frustrated that a mere boy had discovered his identity and revealed his plans.

"That is not important, now leave her alone!" Harry shouted.

"I do not have time for a brat right now." Riddle casually flicked his wrist and Harry was sent careening into a wall. He was knocked out instantly. When he came to, he heard the sound of crunching bones. A long drawn out hiss marked the arrival of the basilisk.

"_Kill the boy. I will purge the school of the roosters,"_ Riddle hissed. He was floating near Ginny, a mere apparition. Ginny had a glazed, almost dreamlike look. She was definitely not herself. Harry looked up at the basilisk. Luckily, the basilisk's head was reared back, preparing to strike. Harry rolled out of the snake's path.

"Ginny, snap out of it." Harry was forced to dive out of the way again, this time sending a redactor curse at the ceiling above the basilisk. The ceiling began to collapse as Harry dove for Ginny, covering her from the falling debris. The great snake screeched loudly as it was pummeled by massive chunks of stone.

"Harry, are you all right?" A voice echoed. Harry felt Ginny's pulse. She didn't have one. Harry started to scream.

"Harry!" Harry woke with a start. He then remembered the prior day's events. He had been waiting with Dumbledore when Ginny came by. She made it to the entrance when… Harry couldn't remember the rest.

"Ron, what happened?" Harry was starting to panic. His dream seemed so real, a nightmarish memory that was tormenting him.

"Well, err. You were kind of knocked out. There was this big snake and-."

Harry had dashed out of the room, leaving Ron to stare at where he just was. He was heading straight for the headmasters office. "Move," Harry said to the gargoyle. The gargoyle just shook its head once. Harry sighed then proceeded to list of all the known sweets. "How about lemon drop? No I already said that. Chocolate truffles?" The Gargoyle stepped aside instantly. "Wha-?"

Harry raced up the stairs, almost running past the edge (they were incomplete and moved when someone was on them). Harry blasted the door open making the occupants of the room jump. Dumbledore was looking at Harry. Harry looked around and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He turned again, but he didn't see Ginny. Harry looked at Dumbledore as if to say something. Dumbledore merely smiled.

"She's fine Harry. If you would please sit down," Dumbledore said, motioning his hand towards a plush chair to his right. Harry sighed audibly before sitting down, sinking into the cushions a few inches.

"Where-"

"She was sent to the-, Ms. Weasley. Welcome back. I thought you were going to the Hospital Wing."

"Well, I was. But I- I mean I just-." She was struggling to say something. "I- I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean to, I was just- I don't know how to explain it really. I- I understand if you don't want to be my friend any more." She turned to leave. It was so quiet in the room you could hear the tears pounding on the ground. She had rushed out the door before Harry or the rest of the remaining occupants of the room had recovered from their shock.

"I'm going to-." He did not finish his sentence, rushing out the door just as Ginny had. He found her half way up the stairs to the fourth floor. "Ginny? Wait, I can't run as fast as you." Ginny did not hear him. She kept running, stumbling as the staircase began to move. She was trapped, Harry was behind her and the stairs had stopped moving in front of her. Before she could contemplate jumping for the next staircase she a pair of arms circle her waist.

"Harry? I- why?"

"I don't know why you were apologizing." For one insane minute, she thought he had lost his memory. "It wasn't your fault, Gin. Tom Riddle has fooled more people in his life than you, possessed as much as well, I'm sure," he added.

"Thank you. I would hate me if I were you." Ginny was sniffling now, her head now hurt.

"I guess it's a good thing you aren't me then." Harry heard someone cough behind him. He turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with Dumbledore. He quickly let go of Ginny and began blushing profusely. "Err, hi?"

"What exactly…," Mr. Weasley said.

"Well, uh, we were just making up." Harry was feeling a little uneasy as the Weasley clan arrived.

"Better than making out," Ron said.

"Yeah, or making-," Fred and George began. Which Molly Weasley cut them off, scolding them. This just made Harry and Ginny blush deeper. Dumbledore had his characteristic twinkle in his eye.

Ending note to my readers: This is probably the last short chapter for a while now. Next chapter will include the rest of the school year and sublimenal messaging brought to you by Sprite (go to my forum) a Coca-Cola product (why are you still reading, go to my forum). Just kidding about the subliminal messaging (FORUM, REVIEW, EAT). valorousknight and his angry monkey, bob. FORUM!!

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	16. Depression

A note to my readers: I am now celebrating the fact that now (12:27 PM EST on August 15th 2008) I only need 500 hits to hit 10000. Thank you all.

Special thanks to Professor Chris for moderating my lowly forum and for being an avid reader and reviewer. Also to Fk306 animelover for being an avid reader and reviewer. I know it's boring but you didn't have to skip the thanks. Maybe when and if you come back to read this you'll pay more attention.

Chapter 15- Depression

Ron and Hermione were skeptical now, well, Hermione was. The fact that Harry had saved Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets was common knowledge around Britain, thanks to Rita Skeeter. A few, including Skeeter, had wondered how exactly Harry had known that Ginny Weasley would be in the second floor girls bathroom and that the entrance to the Chamber was located there. Harry was being pressed constantly on the subject.

What worried Harry was that so many people were staring so hatefully at Ginny Weasley. Apparently they didn't believe anyone when they were told she was possessed. This left an increasingly depressed Ginny hiding up in the first year girls' dormitory when she wasn't in classes. She wasn't eating and Harry had to force her to drink something at the very least. Nothing anyone was saying helped her. She had very few supporters and having Draco and Harry as her two Slytherin friends didn't help.

"I have an idea, let's give her a dozen cheering charms every day," Ron suggested after much deliberation.

"Those have some nasty long term side effects," Harry replied. For the first time, when it concerned Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter was lost.

"How about…," Ron began. Everyone leaned in expectantly. "Oi, I'm still thinking. How about you try to think of something?" Everyone groaned and sank into their seats.

"C'mon Ron, you know her more than any of us do. If you can't think of something than no one can." Hermione looked exhausted. They had been up all weekend thinking up a cure for the 'Ginny Storm'.

"Why don't we get some rest? We can enlist some help from Professor Dumbledore; he'll know what to do. I am going to _kill_ Skeeter." There was a loud chorus of agreements from the group.

"And I'm going to kill my father." Up until that point, the blonde Slytherin had remained quiet, refined to watching the group. Everyone was now staring curiously at him. He shifted uncomfortably before turning to Harry and Ron and continuing. "That diary was in my father's possession at the beginning of the summer, but…." He left the statement open, but everyone knew what he was trying to say.

"Would you be willing to testify against him in front of the Wizengamot?"

"Well," the look on Harry's face was enough persuasion for him, "definitely."

"Well then I guess I'm going to bed." Hermione got up and headed for the stairs.

"Make sure Ginny's alright, 'Mione," Ron said. "She can get pretty riled up when she's upset."

"We should go, too," Malfoy added, dragging Harry out of the empty classroom.

"I'm really worried about her, Malfoy. I don't think I'll be sleeping any time soon."

"What, do you like her?" Harry looked up at him. His eyes were screaming yes, and Draco saw it.

"You have an odd taste in women." He headed to the dungeons leaving Harry to think over is plans. Harry had a tendency to walk aimlessly when he was deep in thought, so when he found himself standing in front of the headmaster's door he opened it without hesitation.

"Mr. Potter, can I help you?" Harry snapped out of his reverie at the voice. Dumbledore was standing on the balcony above his desk, a book tucked under his arm.

"Sorry about forgetting to knock, Professor."

"It's quite all right, Harry. Lemon drop?" he added. Harry nodded once and Dumbledore threw him the whole tin. "You look exhausted."

"I haven't slept in a while. It's Ginny, sir. She's depressed and I don't know what to do." Harry had only felt so defeated once before, when Ginny had died.

"You've tried talking to her?" Harry nodded. "Have you tried gifts, I hear girls love those." Harry chuckled softly.

"No, I haven't tried those. I've been to busy forcing food down her throat. I never realized how cruel students can be to one another, well except for in my primary school. Can you help?"

"I'm sure that I can. Let's start with chocolate. The chocolate will help cheer her up. Next, I'm sure a large stuffed animal will help. The third step would be to take her to dinner, but I can see the problem in that."

"I have the perfect place, actually." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "It's called the Room of Requirements. You once told me that you went in there and found a dozen toilets, because you needed to go. When you got back, there was a horde of firecrabs."

"All the more reasons for me to believe you are from the future."

"All that aside, do you really think this'll work?"

"Trust me Harry, I do."

The next morning, Harry told the rest of the group his plan. Hedwig would fly up to the first year girls' dormitory and give Ginny a box of chocolates, signed anonymously. She would then receive a stuffed animal, again signed anonymously, telling her to meet him by the entrance to the Room of Requirements.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say my best mate was trying to date my sister." Ron looked hard at Harry. Malfoy and Hermione tried not to burst out laughing, but were failing to do so. When Harry began to blush in embarrassment, Ron began to flush with anger. "That's my _sister_, Potter."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Well no, but-."

"Then I am following through with my plan." That ended the discussion.

The day progressed quickly and Harry was surprised to see Ginny waiting for him. He decided to play innocent.

"Hey Gin, what are you doing here?" She mumbled something incoherently. "I'm sorry? I didn't catch that."

"It's none of your business, Potter."

"Oh, well okay. I guess you really don't want to have dinner with me then?" Ginny stared at him for a moment.

"You are a complete _arse_, Harry James Potter!"

"I'm happy to assist you, Ms. Weasley. Now," he said, extending his hand, "we have a dinner to attend. Preferably before it gets cold."

"I'll eat, but I'm not going to like it."

"But it's your favorite. Come on Gin, like it for me." He gave her puppy dog eyes and she dropped her difficult demeanor.

"Fine Harry, I'll eat and like it. But only because you seem so desperate." They both smiled at each other. They ate in relative silence before returning to their respective dormitories.

The next morning, Ginny Weasley made her first appearance to breakfast in a week. A few 'Good job Harry's were said. Ginny sat down next to him.

"Hey, Weaselette, why don't you go back down to that chamber and stay there, it'd do us all a favor," someone shouted from the Hufflepuff table.

"Yeah, maybe then we won't have to put up with you and your friend's lies." Ginny had started tearing up.

"Don't listen to them, Gin. They're just jealous because they don't have you with them."

"Hey Malfoy, how much did Ginny have to do for you in order for you to join them." This one came from the Ravenclaw table. Ginny tried to get up but Harry held her firmly in her seat. He nodded once to the Gryffindor table, and to Malfoy. He got up with Ginny and left the Great Hall.

"Let me go Harry," Ginny said, trying to hold back her tears.

"Just, let it out, Gin," he said, pulling her into a tight embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"But I'll ruin your shirt." The tears started falling anyway. "I've already ruined enough."

"You have done _nothing_ wrong. This was the exact reason why Malfoy's dad did this, to split us all apart. He knows that Voldemort," Ginny flinched, "will be back one day. By splitting the school apart, Voldemort will come and destroy it. He's already started, from the inside out."

"Well, it's working," Ginny said flatly, stifling another sob. "Just kill me, Harry."

"You'll be fine, but I can promise you Rita Skeeter won't be for long." This elicited a small smile from her. "Yes, score one for Potter." She looked at him quizzically. "I made you smile." She laughed once.

"Thank you, Harry. Why are you so nice to me?" Harry turned beet red.

"Well-," he was saved from answering, however, by the appearance of the Minister of Magic and a group of Aurors. Cornelius Fudge was a portly, balding man. He was the appearance of a rather young Slughorn. He was a very stupid man.

"Ah, there she is. Ms. Weasley, you are going to have to come with us," Fudge said.

"W-why?" She looked frightened.

"You are a danger to this school. I am afraid," he started when Dumbledore came to investigate, "you have no say in the matter."

"She is _not_ dangerous." Harry was normally a very level headed person. Right now he was angry, very angry. "She is not going, now back off, or-." He was cut off by a fast approaching stinging hex. Harry moved out of the way quickly, the curse hitting a stone basin. The whole school was watching by now.

"Do not play games with me, boy. These Aurors are authorized to kill when necessary."

"Then you are going to have to kill me because she is staying here." Fudge looked at Harry for a moment.

"Dumbledore, I am going to have to ask you to keep your students in check."

"I agree," Dumbledore began. There was a short pause. Dumbledore began again, this time in a stronger voice, "I agree with Harry, she stays. You have no right to interfere in school business."

"Actually," said a new voice, "it is now a matter of national security." Lucius Malfoy made his way through the throng of people.

"Wow, and how many people did you have to bribe to do that. Decided that since you screwed up your master's plan then you would punish the girl that was supposed to play your pawn?" Harry was in a rage now. If anyone made the wrong move, they were going to regret it for a long time.

"I know that you slipped Ginny the diary somehow. You are the one responsible for everything."

"You have no proof."

"Actually, dad, he does." Draco Malfoy had made his way to the group of people. "I heard everything. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell your son what you were doing."

"Severus, Veritaserum if you would?" Snape nodded once and was gone. He came back with a vial of clear liquid. "Minister, with your permission I would like to interrogate Mr. Lucius Malfoy." Fudge nodded his approval. He forced Malfoy's mouth open; his eyes glazed over.

"Are you Lucius Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes."

"Do you own or were you ever in possession of this book?" Dumbledore held up the diary.

"Yes."

"Who gave it to you?"

"The Dark Lord."

"Why?"

"To release the beast in the Chamber and purge the school of its mudbloods."

"I think we have heard enough. Minister, I trust you know what to do from here." Fudge nodded.

"Sorry dad," Malfoy said with a smirk.

"You are no son of mine, Draco."

"Good."

A few people were now looking at Ginny apologetically. "You should be sorry. I think I lost a kilo after that one. I'm starving." A look crossed her face. "Great Merlin I'm turning into Ron." Most people chuckled.

"So… you aren't depressed?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Not anymore."

"Good to hear," chorused the group of friends.

Ending note to my readers: This is earlier than expected. valorousknight and his angry monkey, bob.

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	17. Quidditch

A note to my readers: Quidditch se

A note to my readers: Quidditch season is underway. I wrote out my story line. I am in need of a beta, but am too lazy to press the beta reader button conveniently located in the same area as my stats and whatnot. On with the show.

Chapter 17- Quidditch

The first Quidditch match of the season was against Gryffindor. Most of his teammates had decided that they should 'play fair'. Between what Harry knew of them and what he had learned over the year, there was no way in hell.

Harry had taken his Firebolt prototype for a spin. It jerked horribly when he would take a sharp turn. He quickly scribbled this down on his response sheet. It also bucked when he stayed still too long. Harry also scribbled that down. It also braked prematurely when you went near top speed. Again, he wrote it down. He would have to ask someone, maybe Ginny, to rewrite everything in order to make it more legible.

Harry sighed audibly. Ginny was hiding something from him, he was bent on finding out. It can't be the Chamber again, the diary has been confiscated. Dumbledore wouldn't let it go easily.

"See team, at least _some_ of us take things seriously." The Slytherin team, lead by Marcus Flint, had made its way to the field. Harry looked around; a large number of people had begun to fill the stands.

"Now, the Gryffindors have a new seeker, their 'secret weapon'. Don't let him catch the snitch, Potter. Harry nodded affirmative. "Malfoy," Draco Malfoy had also made the team, a reserve Chaser. One was out with the flu. "If you drop that Quaffle I am going to hit you with a bludgers my self. Understood?" Malfoy gulped and nodded. "Let's go and ride to glory."

"Here comes the Slytherin team," said the familiar voice of Lee Jordan. A number of boos accompanied the announcement. "The Gryffindor team makes their appearance on the pitch. Wait, one, two, three? Three Weasleys are on the pitch? It's," the crowd strained their eyes to see better. "I can't believe it. Ginny Weasley is the new Gryffindor Seeker. That would make her the youngest Quidditch player in a century."

Harry's mouth fell open in shock.

"What's the matter, Potter? Cat got your tongue?" She grinned at him.

"Nah," he said, grinning stupidly. 'But one day, you'll have my tongue.'

"Captains, shake hands. Now I want a nice clean match." She proceeded to then release the Bludgers. The snitch was released a moment later, zooming off towards the Gryffindor goal posts. She threw the Quaffle in the air and the match commenced. Harry flew high in the air, Ginny tailing him closely.

"What's wrong, Gin? Can't go off on your own?"

"Wood told me to watch out for you. If you're anything like your father, you'll crush us."

Harry snorted, "If I were anything like my father, I'd be Gryffindor Seeker."

"You're being a bit cocky, Harry."

"Well, I do need to try new things," Harry said with a noncommittal shrug.

"Hey, Potter," Flint called, "you're supposed to be looking for the Snitch, not flirting with the opposition."

"It would appear that Slytherin captain Marcus Flint has caught both seekers _flirting_. More on the Potter/Weasley story tonight." A few people laughed and Harry and Ginny blushed.

"Jordan, I'm warning you." McGonagall's voice was filled with laughter as well.

"Thanks a lot, Harry." She turned to look at him but she couldn't find him. "Harry?" Then she saw him, flying around the pitch chasing a familiar golden ball. She aimed herself towards the snitches intended path. It swerved suddenly, but a well hit bludgers forced Harry to maneuver away from the Snitch. Again, the snitch was lost.

"You really need to pay more attention to me," Harry joked. When she raised her eyebrows, he added, "So I don't catch the Snitch."

"POTTER!"

"Sorry captain."

Harry sped off towards the far goalpost, Ginny followed. Harry flew straight up, Ginny followed. Harry feinted, Ginny didn't fall for it. 'At least she's smart,' Harry thought. He caught site of the snitch fluttering by Wood's nose. He gave a few intricate signals to Malfoy (they had worked on them since making the team) and Malfoy went after Flint to tell him where Harry needed help.

The plan was rather simple. Set up a five point star around the goal hoops, giving the snitch only a few options of escape. It was a risky maneuver because it was so noticeable (as well as having poor defense), but if it worked, it would hand Slytherin a fifty point victory (It was 130 to 30 in favor of Gryffindor). Harry rose again and shot off towards the Gryffindor goal posts. Everyone had noticed the formation and was screaming some form of command. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were all shouting at Ginny to hurry up to the snitch. Slytherin was yelling at Harry because Ginny was gaining. Harry's broom bucked violently, but his luck held out. The snitch flew straight towards him, when he bucked, it put him in perfect position to catch it, but not before Gryffindor had scored thrice more.

"Good game, Gin. You make a pretty Seeker."

She looked at him oddly for a moment. "What did you say?" She was turning scarlet.

Harry racked his memory to try and figure out what he said wrong. He turned bright red when he realized his mistake, well, compliment anyway. "You make a pretty _good _Seeker."

"Oh, I thought you said- never mind." Ginny looked disappointed as she flew down to the Gryffindor team.

"Party tonight, Potter. You coming?"

"No thanks, Malfoy. I'm not one for loud noises." Ever since the war, Harry had been jumpy. It had hardened him into a deadly soldier, but loud noises tend to make even the fiercest warriors jump. Harry wondered wildly what it was like when the first gun was used in combat; how men with swords stopped at the sound of thunder on a cloudless day, or that something white hot ripped through their flesh without being seen. It made him shiver at the thought.

"Suit yourself, Harry. By-the-way, what did you say to Weaselette? Must have been pretty bad to make her run off like that." Malfoy looked expectantly at Harry.

"I said she was a pretty Seeker."

"I don't get how that- wait." He then started laughing, to Harry's dismay. "You said she was pretty, instead of, pretty good."

"I know," Harry said icily. "Thank you for that assessment Mr. Malfoy, now if you would kindly leave me to wallow in self pity at my stupidity."

"Of course."

"Jerk."

"I know. You should probably go talk to her. I know you like her."

"How would you know that?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.

"Everyone can see it. I'm not blind, although I may be stupid at times."

"Agreed."

"Jerk."

"Using my insults now are we?"

"Of course I am. It just makes them hurt more. There is nothing more painful than your own insult biting you in the ass."

"Bye Malfoy." Malfoy nodded and Harry sped off towards the locker room. The team was waiting for him there. "Great catch, Potter. I knew I could count on you," Flint exclaimed loudly. "What kind of broom is that, Potter? It looked like you were trying out for the ballet."

"It's called a Firebolt. It's a prototype that I must ride when I play Quidditch." At the questioning glances, he added, "my parents signed some stupid contract." I really hope they fix the cushioning charms," Harry emphasized this by rubbing his lower back. "Well, see you guys later."

"Wait, you're not coming to the party."

"No, too much noise for my poor little ears."

"There is nothing little about those ears," Marcus Belby, a Chaser, commented. There were a few hearty laughs at that.

"Even worse then, see you lot on the practice field."

Harry made his way up to the Gryffindor common rooms. "Err, I don't know the password. Wattlebird? No that was the beginning of term. How about Merlin's Beard?" The portrait had swung open. "I was joking, seriously, how does this happen?"

"What the hell did you say to my sister? She's hiding in the girls dormitory and won't come out."

"I kind of said she was a pretty Seeker." Hermione giggled girlishly and Ron turned red.

"What, she is not! I mean, she-," Ron spluttered.

"No, she is pretty, but I think I might have just startled her."

"What? You like her or something, Potter?" Harry blushed deeply. "Great, now I'm losing my Slytherin best friend to my younger sister. Wait, Harry, you're a Slytherin."

"No I'm not," Harry said, feigning hurtfulness. He tried his best to conceal his green and silver badge.

"How'd you get in here?" Hermione asked, perplexed and vexed that someone outside of Gryffindor knew the password.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Hermione, can you talk to Ginny for me. Tell her I'm down here at least.

"So, you want to go out with my sister. I'm going to have to set some ground rules." Harry gulped.

Ending note to my readers: This will conclude my story. Thank you for your time and patience… Just kidding. Next (shudder) ch-ch-chaaaha-chappie (God I hate that word), will be up shortly. valorousknight and his angry monkey, Bob.

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	18. Break Out

A note to my reader: Bob says hi. I still have a forum, aptly named Shattered Hope.

Chapter 18- Break out

The leaves had fallen off the trees and the snow had rolled in. Most of the sixth and seventh years could be seen having snowball fights (they had a few breaks between classes). Most of the students watched enviously, and a few chuckled when someone was pummeled by a dozen snowballs.

Neither Ron nor Ginny, or Neville and Draco for that matter, were getting anywhere with their homework lately. After Harry and Ron 'talked' (Ron ended up setting up a long list of rules to make sure Harry was a 'suitable' person for his sister to date) Harry wasn't able to look at Ginny straight. Some things are best left unsaid.

The snow hadn't stopped since it began on the first of December. It was now the 18th. The snow had piled to well above the teachers lounge windows on the first floor.

"Let's take a break from studying." Hermione gave him a dark look. "Aw, come on Hermione. It will give everyone else a chance to clear their heads so they can do better. You should try it sometimes; it really works.

"Fine, but when you all fail, don't blame me."

"When I don't one-up you in classes, I'll buy you a house." Hermione shot him a dirty look.

They were quiet for a moment, then Harry said, "What did you say to Ginny?"

"She actually tried to avoid the subject. She tried to talk Quidditch to me. I don't know Quidditch, you know that. Although the subject is a rather hot topic lately."

"So, she doesn't like me anymore?"

"No, nothing like that. I weaseled some things out of her."

"And?"

"That is between me and Ginny," a group of girls giggled as they passed him, "and the first year girls."

"I take it she said something that embarrassed her?" It was Ron's turn to speak.

"Something, yeah."

The snow was knee deep when they got outside. They trudged their way to an open portion of the field and split up. The boys split off, leaving Hermione to fend for herself.

"Someone should probably be on Hermione's team." He looked at Neville and Draco.

"Not me. We Slytherins should stick together," Malfoy said.

"Grow up, Malfoy. When you finally graduate school, houses won't matter."

"Why should I grow up? I'm still a kid," he said pointedly.

"I'll go," Neville said, casually strolling over to Hermione and helping her pack snow.

"Good man, Nev. At least some people have class enough to help a lady."

"What about you?" Draco accused, pointing his finger at Harry's chest.

"Ron's my best mate. You, on the other hand, are a great git. You can go too though; it'd be unfair if we ganged up on them."

"Yeah, well. It'd be more fun to watch them squirm anyway."

"That's just cruel."

"It's a Slytherin trait. Something that you don't seem to have. Are we sure you really are a Slytherin?"

"Of course. I can be damn near evil, but you have to do it sneakily, like a _real_ Slytherin."

"And what is that supposed to mean. I'll have you know that-"

Malfoy never finished his sentence. Instead, a snowball made impact with the back of his head. Malfoy and Harry both turned around to see Ron holding a dozen snowballs, Neville and Hermione winding back.

"Shit," Harry muttered. "Duck!" Harry pulled Malfoy down, who had been too stunned to move. The snowballs sailed over their heads, changing direction in mid flight and hitting both Harry and Malfoy in the chest.

"Wha-?" Malfoy said.

"Hermione must have charmed the snowballs." Another two hit them over the head.

"Well how do _we_ do it?"

"Umm, maybe it was…" Harry trailed off, thinking.

"Potter!" Malfoy yelled as he was pelted with a snowball for the fourth time.

"Uhh, _form_," Harry said, pointing his wand at a large pile of snow. The snow rolled into snowballs, maybe fifty.

"Now what?" Malfoy asked as he jumped, avoiding a snowball aimed for his 'lower abdomen'. The small bundle of snow hit their pile of snowballs.

"Smooth genius. _Pack_, umm, insisto glacies. Now, sit back and relax." Harry waved his wand once. The snowballs rose into the air. Harry could hear Ron shouting and Malfoy chuckling. Harry flicked his wand towards them, hearing them impact the three Gryffindors.

"We yield, Potter. That was just unfair," Ron yelled. Harry merely shrugged.

The five friends made their way back up to the castle. Ron, Hermione and Neville headed up the stairs and towards Gryffindor common room. Harry and Malfoy headed off towards the Slytherin common room.

"Well, night Draco."

"Night, Potter. Uh, Potter?"

"What Malfoy, I'm trying to sleep."

"We forgot our stuff in the Gryffindor common room."

"We'll get it in the morning."

"Alright, night, Potter."

"I'm not going through this again."

Harry was woken up by someone shaking his shoulders roughly. "Oi, Potter! You're girlfriend is in the hall. Says it's important."

"Thanks, Blaise. She's not my girlfriend," Harry added sleepily.

"Could've fooled us," Malfoy said.

"Shut it, you!" Harry strode out of the dormitory and headed out of the door. "Hey, Gin. What's up?"

"I needed to talk to you, about, err, everything," she finished lamely.

"Alright, Ginny. Where do you want to start?" Harry had a feeling this was going to take a while.

"Before you saved me, from the Chamber," she looked at Harry. "I was afraid to be in the same room as you. It was a very embarrassing time for me." Harry shot her a questioning look. "I mean, everything I did was embarrassing. I almost fell off of Ron's broom one night when I flew past your bedroom window." Ginny blushed at the memory. Harry had been tossing and turning, murmuring something. He didn't have a shirt on. His body had been well defined, and Ginny's heart had momentarily halted after seeing such a display.

"You saved me that day. Why? If you knew that it would put you into danger, why go through the trouble?"

Harry sighed and motioned for her to follow him. As he was walking, he was thinking. His pace slowed as he thought harder. _Should I tell her? What will happen if I do? I better stick to the well thought out plan._

"If there is something you can do to make someone's life better, and you know exactly how to do it, would you?" She stared at him for a moment. "Pretend that, for only a moment, Bill was having a bad day. What would you do?"

"I would probably give him a hug and tell him it will be fine. Then I'd kill the person responsible for causing him distress."

"Basically, that's what I did. I gave you a giant hug and told you you'd be fine. Then I killed the one responsible, in this case, Riddle and his basilisk."

"Did you know what would happen?" Ginny asked softly. Harry stared into her eyes, knowing he couldn't lie.

"Yes."

"How did you know, Harry?" Harry turned away from her. "Are you a seer?" When Harry shook his head, she persisted. "Harry, if you are there is nothing to be ashamed about. You can tell me."

"I'm not a seer. It's something else, but I can't tell you. You have to trust me that it was nothing bad."

"I trust you. Just don't do anything to break that trust."

"Why would I?"

"You are a Slytherin," Ginny said pointedly.

"That, Ginny, is the worst stereotype I have ever heard. Some of the greatest wizards have come out of Slytherin. I mean look at…" Harry trailed off. Ginny laughed.

"There's got to be someone."

"I'm sure, Potter."

"G'night, Ginny. I will see you tomorrow."

"Mhmm, good night Potter."

"Oh, and Ginny?'

"Yeah, Potter?"

"We left our-"

"Yeah I know. I kind of read part of your diary."

"I don't have a diary," Harry said quickly.

"What's this about liking some mystery girl?"

"Well I- I mean- well- uh-," Harry stuttered.

"Who is she? Is she pretty? It's not Hermione, is it? Ron would kill you. Aren't you a little young to be dating?" Ginny asked in a pace to rival Hermione.

"I refuse to answer any questions on the grounds that you read my diary. And you said that I'm evil. And it's a _journal_, not a diary. Journal is much manlier. Besides, you seem to be jealous of this mystery girl."

Ginny turned scarlet. "Whatever. You can dream all you want, Potter."

"But only in my sleep, which is what I intend to do now. Good night."

"Good night."

The next morning came around quickly. Harry had packed his things, ready to go back to Potter Manor for Christmas. There was a lot of muttering as he ate his breakfast. He felt someone tap his shoulder and turned. It was Ginny. Her face was deathly pale and she was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet out for him. He took it and read:

_PETTIGREW ESCAPES, MASS BREAKOUT_

_By: Gregory Mathieu_

_Earlier this morning, Peter Pettigrew, murderer of over twenty muggles and supporter of you-know-who broke out of Azkaban Prison. He, along with Belatrix Lestrange and a dozen other convicted Death Eaters, are the first to escape the wizarding prison._

Harry stopped reading. "Okay, so Pettigrew and a dozen other Death Eaters are out to get me. Nothing to be worried about. Pettigrew is a weak idiot. He couldn't hurt a fly." _Well, until the war started, that is._

"You have to remember that he blew up a street full of muggles, Harry," Ginny said quietly. "Sirius told us that Azkaban changes people. Pettigrew is definitely no exception. He will try to kill you, and he will not hesitate to kill everyone around you. Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"Gin, I-"

"Promise me, Harry!"

"I promise. But if he tries to hurt my family, I'll kill him."

"I'm sure Sirius-"

"No, not just Sirius. You and you're family. Neville, Hermione, hell, even Malfoy."

"We're your family?"

"Of course you are, you guys are amazing. You're the closest to family I could ever have, besides Sirius, but he doesn't play the motherly role very well." Ginny giggled and Harry sighed inwardly. "We should get going. It's a long ride home."

A note to my readers: Sorry this took so long. I was a very busy person for the past month. I'm sick now, so I found the time to write a new chapter. I've got a new idea for a story, but I might wait until I finish this one. valorousknight and his angry monkey, bob, who got a new phone, a bananaphone.

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	19. Christmas

A note to my readers: I have decided to make my story a trilogy

A note to my readers: I have decided to make my story a trilogy. You'll see eventually, but until then, I'll leave your imaginations running.

Warnings: This chapter contains the many reasons why this story is rated T.

Chapter 19- Christmas

The ride to King's Cross Station was uneventful, full of laughter and exploding snap. There was little to talk about; those who were on the train with Harry (Neville, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Malfoy) steered clear of the Pettigrew incident. The sun had begun to set when they arrived at the station.

"Bye guys, see you at Christmas?" Harry asked once they had found their parents (Sirius, Molly and Arthur were glaring at Lucius Malfoy).

"Probably," Ron said.

"You know I won't," Draco spat.

"Err, right then. I'll see you at school then, Draco."

"Right, Potter. You and you're girlfriend," Draco said with a triumphant smile. He walked away, leaving behind a rather peeved Harry.

"I, wha-? SHUT UP!" Harry yelled at Draco's retreating form. Draco tossed a casual wave behind his back as Sirius perked up.

"You have a girlfriend? Who is it? Do I know her? Is it Hermione?" Ron looked murderously at Sirius and Sirius shuttered. "Maybe not Hermione. Uh, let's see. For the past ten generations, the Potter family has always liked women with…" A smile crept onto Sirius' face. "It's-"

"Don't, Sirius," Harry said with malice. Sirius faltered, along with the many Witches and Wizards still filing out of the station. Harry's magical aura had expanded, filling platform 9 and ¾. Sirius picked up where he left off, dancing on the edge of disaster.

"Don't worry. I won't say a thing. If she doesn't realize you like her, she's as dense as Ron."

"Hmm? Did someone say my name?"

"No, Ron," Ginny said. "So, Harry, now I'm curious. Who is it?"

"I, uh, have to go. See you tomorrow, Ron, Ginny?"

"Yeah, of course," Ron replied.

"I," Sirius said, leading Harry out of the station, "have so much to teach you." This didn't go unheard by Mrs. Weasley. She began yelling loudly, making the few people left on the platform to jump.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK, IF YOU SO DARE TO TEACH HIM ONE THING INVOLVING SEX, I WILL PERSONALLY KILL YOU! YOU ARE THE SINGLE WORST INFLUENCE A CHILD COULD POSSIBLY HAVE!

"Now, now, Molly. Would you prefer Harry to find out through experience?"

"I'D RATHER HE NOT LEARN AT ALL!"

"That's not really the point. As the father figure, I-," he flinched under the glares of both Weasley parents. "I, well, I'm in trouble. Well, it's been a lovely chat, but Harry and I must go." He then pushed Harry out of the station and towards a black convertible.

"I could have sworn you had a much, uh, slower car."

"What's wrong? You don't like my driving?"

"If anyone does, they're crazy."

"Y'know what? When we get home, I want you to shower and go straight to bed, or else," Sirius said sternly.

"Or else what, Sirius?"

"Or else Santa won't come."

"Uh, Sirius, I think we need to talk."

"About what?"

"Your beliefs. For instance," Harry started when Sirius shot him a questioning look, "Santa Claus does not exist."

"You're lying."

"Just drive, and try not to get us both killed."

Needless to say, both Sirius and Harry made it back home safely, albeit a nice green color. Harry made his way to bed and got ready for Christmas. It never ceased to amaze him how much spirit Christmas brings. He drifted off into blissful sleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

To say Harry's dreams were awkward would be, well, true. Today was another one of _those _dreams. Not a nightmare, much worse. An eighteen year old Harry was sitting in a dark passage. A study was to his right, a bedroom to his left. The walls were lined with stone; the floor was lined with black marble. Following the pathway were about a dozen snake heads. It was the Chamber of Secrets. Harry was perched on top of the head of Salazar Slytherin, practicing his animagus forms.

"Harry, try the head again. I think I saw something wrong," said an older Ginny Weasley.

"No you didn't, you're just saying that," Harry said. His voice seemed to carry off the walls, a rich, commanding voice.

"I know. I missed you last night, Harry," she purred. "Where were you?"

Harry gave a low chuckle. "I was busy. Tom seems to be hiding everywhere I go nowadays. If I didn't know better, I'd say he had a tracking charm on me."

"He can't though, Harry. The charm would break as soon as you entered the school grounds."

"Yes, well, it was just a thought," Harry sighed.

"I have a better thought," Ginny said seductively.

"Oh?" Harry asked, suddenly uninterested in his book; _Animagus Transformations and How You Can Do Them Too._

"Follow me and I'll show you," Ginny replied. Her satin cloak flowed around her as she turned. She disappeared behind one of the bedroom doors.

Harry growled low in his throat before giving chase.

"You found me," Ginny giggled, letting her robes pool at her feet.

Harry woke with a start to see Sirius standing over his bed with an empty bucket of water.

"What the hell, Sirius?"

"You were getting a little comfortable. What were you dreaming about?"

"Nothing, Sirius."

"Wait, let me guess. A redhead named Ginny? Must have been a pretty good dream to have you tossing around like _that_."

"Shut up Sirius. You are the luckiest person in the world. You only had to go through puberty _once_. Why are you in my room?" Harry asked.

"Uh, presents?"

"Who exactly is the adult here, Sirius?"

"Well, seeing as you are going through puberty, that would make you an adolescent. I assume that I must take on the role of adult," Sirius said in a defeated voice.

Harry snorted. "I'm older than you are, so I should be the adult."

"Let's not fight over this, Harry. Especially not on Christmas. We'll solve it the way Wizards do best."

"Flip a knut?"

"Yeah. Oh, and the Weasley's are coming over in twenty minutes. I suggest you take a shower, a rather cold one at that, before they get here. Good luck looking at Ginny right for the next few hours."

"Piss off, Sirius." Harry looked down. There was a rather noticeable tent in the covers. Harry groaned inwardly. He got out of bed and silently agreed with Sirius as he turned the 'cold' knob on the shower full blast. Ten minutes later, a cleaner, colder Harry walked down the stairs to the smell of unattended bacon.

"Sirius? Where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom."

"Did you forget the food or did you accidentally slip laxatives into your tea again."

"Hey, I was drunk. Wait, the food?"

"Yeah, aren't you cooking?"

"No, I thought you had started it."

"It was me," said a soft voice from the pantry said. "Happy Christmas, Harry."

"Gin? How'd you get here?"

"I flooed over. Now move, you're in my way."

"Sorry," Harry squeaked, his voice cracking harshly.

Ginny giggled and Harry thought wildly of his dream. He groaned inwardly, it was going to be a long day.

The rest of the Weasleys made their way through the fireplace a few seconds after the bacon had found its way to the table. After a few hugs and 'Happy Christmases', the Weasley's, Harry and Sirius sat down to eat. The meal was fun for all, Fred and George tested their latest creation on Sirius, Canary Creams. Mrs. Weasley had given them a half-hearted scolding. When everyone had finished eating, Harry had decided to take everyone's plate for them.

"So," Sirius began, "presents?"

"Sure Sirius, presents."

"Good, I was getting impatient."

"You're always impatient," Harry said over the sink faucet.

"Hurry up, Harry. On second thought, let's go without him," he began marching away from the table, but was quickly dragged by the ear back to his seat by Mrs. Weasley.

"We can wait for Harry. You need to learn to be patient," Mrs. Weasley chided.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good boy," Harry said.

"Woof," Sirius replied.

"Sorry no doggy treats."

"Brat."

"Sirius!"

Everyone laughed. Opening the presents was a very noisy affair with nine people in the house. Harry had gotten everyone a small pendant in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"They each have a tracking charm on them so you know where everyone is," Harry explained. "They also have a voice activated portkey that will take you here if you ever need or want to be here. To use it, just say my full name while touching it."

"Thank you, Harry dear. You are such a thoughtful young man," Mrs. Weasley praised, which Harry blushed at.

"You're welcome. Anything to keep my family safe."

"Here, Harry. This is from Arthur and me," Mrs. Weasley said through teary eyes.

Harry opened up the package, revealing a small picture album. He opened it and saw many pictures. A boy with jet black hair and hazel eyes was chasing a snitch through a goal hoop.

"That was your father's first game," Sirius said. "Caught the snitch with three broken ribs from a miss hit bludgers."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley. This is perfect." They smiled at Harry.

"Here, mate. Something for the ride back to school," Ron said. Harry ripped open a package to reveal a dozen chocolate frogs and a book; _The tales of Beedle the Bard_. "It's actually a really good book."

" Thanks, but I'm surprised you would get me a book. I think Hermione's rubbing off on you."

"Yeah, err, you're welcome," Ron said blushing brightly.

"Oh, our sweet Ronnikens has a crush on Gryffindors resident brain."

"Shut it."

"Ron, Fred, George, that's enough!"

"Yes, mum."

"Here you go Harry," began Fred.

"Use it wisely," said George.

"That is probably one of the most expensive products on our shelves at the moment."

"So don't screw around with it," George finished.

Harry opened up the package. "Uh, what is it?" Harry asked, perplexed. He had pulled out a neatly folded parchment.

"What is it?" Fred said, appalled.

"That's our newest creation," George said.

"The new Marauder's Map," they finished together.

"Really?" Sirius said. "I have got to see this. Let's see," he began skimming through the parchment. "It's perfect, you even have a couple new rooms, the outskirts of the forest and Hogsmeade."

"Wicked, right?"

"Bloody amazing. How many do you have?"

"Three."

"How much are they apiece?"

"30,000 Galleons," Fred said.

"Pretty cheap," George said.

"Wow, make sure you only sell these to people who aren't Death Eaters though."

"Don't worry about that. We'll only sell these in school. They also have a built in magic detector. Did you know magical cores have a color?" Harry nodded before Fred continued. "Well, when you're a Death Eater, you turn black and green." He proved his point by showing him Severus Snape.

"You can also track people that you want to see. Albus Dumbledore," George said, tapping the map with his wand. He placed the map down and the map began to fold and shift. A dot labeled Albus Dumbledore was in the center of the paper. "And," George tapped on the name, "you can get a detailed description on each person."

"I think you should charge more," Sirius said. "That's a lot of spell work."

"And I expect a lot of NEWT's from you two," Mrs. Weasley said.

"And destroy our reputation?" Fred cried.

"Scandalous!" George shouted.

"Oh behave you two."

"Here Harry," Percy said, shoving a square bundle under Harry's nose.

"Err, thanks, Percy," Harry said, unwrapping a book. It was Percy's book about Prefects and Power.

"You could become a great minister."

"Thanks Percy, but my ideal expertise is law enforcement."

"Ah, well, you could always make an excellent Head for the Auror Department at the Ministry."

"Here Harry, something you could use," Charlie said. He handed him a large claw. "There's an old legend with these claws. Those who have great power can use them in wands, make the ultimate wand. That there is manticore claw. It takes a hundred fully trained Aurors just to take out one manticore. I got lucky and found it on a Dragon Raid in Greece."

"The legend also says you need three other ingredients," Bill put in. "Phoenix tears, vampire fang and Elder wood. I got you the fang."

"The Elder Wand?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, but it's a myth, so don't go crazy." Charlie said as Bill handed Harry the Vampire fang.

"Well, Harry. It looks like you'll have all the ingredients for this wand by the end of the night," Sirius said. "I got you the elder."

"Why?"

"I think it's high time you learned wand lore. It's taught to all Aurors just in case they loose their wand. Simple wands only take a few hours, but wands such as your Phoenix feather wand take months, sometimes years."

"I don't have Phoenix tears though, so I can't make the wand anyway."

"Umm, well, actually," Ginny said from her spot by the fire. "I got the tears. Fawkes wanted me to give them to you." Everyone shot her a questioning glance. "I have no idea; I just knew that he wanted me to give you his tears."

"Those are really rare, Firefly," Bill said.

"I know, but Harry deserves them." Everyone agreed with that last statement.

"Why do I deserve them though?"

"You saved my life. You deserved them."

"I- thank you," Harry relented.

"Here's Hermione's gift, Harry." Sirius handed Harry a massive book.

"Thanks. It's a book," Harry stated.

"No surprise there," Ron laughed.

"I suppose not." Harry tore of the thin wrapping, revealing an old tome. "_Wand Lore as of the Nineteenth century_. Perfect timing, but I thought the Ministry banned the sale and distribution of these books."

"It's outdated though."

"Ah, I see. That all then?"

The rest of the day went by smoothly. Goodbyes were said and the group parted ways. Harry fell asleep that night, knowing he had a week before school started. He fell asleep and dreamed of Ginny and him.

Ending note to my readers: Here it is, the next chapter. Play the fanfare. valorousknight and his angry monkey, bob.

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	20. Valentine's Day

A note to my readers: Year 2 is almost done. Valentines Day is a day of love, friendship and awkwardness. Poor Harry ;)

Chapter 20- Valentine's Day

The month of January had rolled by swiftly. The occasional sighting of a Death Eater broke the silence and made everyone become quite jumpy. A number of students could be heard swearing they saw Pettigrew hiding in the shadows of the Forest, causing numerous investigations. Harry had not fared well, being constantly watched by teachers and his friends alike. It was this constant bother that lead to a particular afternoon in mid February that Harry got exceptionally mad. It wasn't his friends though, nor was it the staff. It was much worse.

"Leave me alone, seriously, I'm too young to date," Harry yelled over his shoulder as he strode to Charms. "Give it a rest. Bloody women," he added under his breath.

"Oh, Harry! You can never be too young to date." A few girls said.

Harry had walked into his classes late since the week before Valentine's Day, and it seemed a miracle that he hadn't received detention. His Professors seemed to feel for his suffering, only giving him small chidings and the occasional after class talk. Today seemed no different as he was confronted by Professor Flitwick.

"Third time this week Mr. Potter. See me after class," Professor Flitwick said.

Harry took a seat between Draco and Blaise Zabini.

"What's wrong, Potter? Girl problems?" Malfoy asked once he had settled in.

"That time of the month then, Potter?" Blaise asked. Both boys snickered.

"Shut it, both of you."

"Nah, it's too much fun." Zabini was laughing quietly.

"Mr. Zabini, are you feeling all right?" Professor Flitwick had noticed Zabini's small convulsions from his laughing.

"Yes, Professor. I'm fine, thank you for asking."

"Good, then maybe you can repeat what I just said?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Err, something about Charms?"

"Very good Mr. Zabini, but if you cannot be more descriptive, I will see you after class as well." At Blaise's nod, the small professor continued. "Perhaps laughing at Mr. Potter's expense would not be wise."

"Yes, Sir," Blaise replied sullenly. The rest of the class ended uneventfully (they had practiced expulsion charms, creating large craters in the walls). Harry stayed behind at the end of class; Blaise had snuck out the door, whispering to Harry "I know I'm getting detention."

"Mr. Potter, thank you for staying after. Tell Mr. Zabini that he has detention tomorrow after dinner," the small Professor said. "What seems to be the problem?" Harry looked inquisitively at his Charms Professor. "You have been increasingly late for class."

"We are getting increasingly close to Valentine's Day. Those loony girls will not leave me alone! I try to make it, but I… I can't," Harry finished lamely.

"Is you're head on right, Mr. Potter? You have women practically throwing themselves at your feat. Unless," he paused and watched as Harry's eyes widened, "there is a certain female who has already gained your attraction?" Harry turned crimson, Professor Flitwick's smile increased. "A _redheaded_ female? You make it so obvious, almost as bad as Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger. Ms. Weasley is obviously as thick as her brother."

"She's too young. A first year! I'm trying to wait, but she makes it so hard."

"Oh? She makes it hard? If anything, you make it hard. Love knows no boundaries, Mr. Potter, age is no exception." Harry opened his mouth to protest. "Although," Professor Flitwick continued, "if you had a girlfriend, you wouldn't have this problem."

"But-"

"So, if you still have this problem by Valentine's Day, I will give you detention every Friday for the rest of the year."

"I- What?" Harry's jaw dropped several inches below his knees, or so it felt. A teacher was blackmailing him. Not just _a_ teacher, but Professor Flitwick.

"Goodbye, Mr. Potter. Go get her, and quickly."

Harry knew he was getting detention as he sat by the fire. It was 2 A.M., but Harry was wide awake. To him, it was worth it to not rush into a relationship. On the plus side, this little 'bribe' could get him closer to Ginny. Or, as he had thought many times before, this would be a disaster and Ginny would hate him.

Eventually, Harry decided to go with detentions. Valentine's Day really seemed to put a damper on things, or at least, in Harry's opinion. That is why, a week later (The day after Valentine's Day), Harry was polishing trophies at ten o'clock on a particularly stormy night.

"It's a shame," Professor Flitwick had said, "you really ought to get it over with before those awkward teen years."

"I am there," Harry grumbled to himself, going unheard to the small Professor.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

A note to my readers: I will end this chapter here, but only because I have a special treat for you all. The prologue for a story I've been thinking up for a long time. It's been done before, but not as an H/G story.

THE DARK LORD'S SON

Severus Snape was no stupid man. He knew when to quit, knew when to run and hide, even knew when he was caught. He knew he was caught, this instance, as he locked eyes with the Dark Lord's prodigy, Voldemort's son. Snape cringed at the thought of being caught, thought of how quickly it would end, how painful it would be.

"It is a pity, Severus, that you would betray us like this. You seemed so," he paused for a moment, "loyal? You are a fool. I surpassed my father years ago in the arts of legillimency. What would my father do if I told him you betrayed him?" A malicious smile formed on his cold lips. "No doubt he would take all the fun, no? It's a good thing that _I_ found you out instead." His voice was laced with malice and cruelty beyond measure. "I will spare your life, but," he said as Snape opened his mouth in praise, "you will not come out of here unscathed. CRUCIO!"

Snape was on fire; his mind was blank as white hot pain seeped out of his pores, as if his body were slowly catching on fire. He screamed, feeling the sensation of falling from consciousness. At the moment when his brain stopped working, the spell was lifted.

"Now go, and do not forget where you truly belong." Snape bowed low and left.

"Rough night, Severus?"

"The same, Macnair, the same."

…………………………………………………………………...……………………...

"That was, invigorating, father. Although I enjoy these lessons, I would prefer to experience them surrounded by people my own age."

"Silence, boy. You are not going to Hog-"

"It would give you the perfect opportunity to have a spy in Dumbledore's 'encampment'," he said, cutting off Voldemort. Voldemort's eyes narrowed viciously.

"You're dancing with pain, boy."

"I could even keep tabs on Snape in my spare time. It'll be like-"

"CRUCIO!" He didn't even flinch, the spell hitting him dead on. His nerves were on fire, but if he had learned anything, it was to show as few emotions and feelings as possible. The spell was relinquished a few moments later.

"So, we have an agreement?"

"Fine, boy."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"My son wishes to stay here, to observe how teaching is done, and how to behave like a teenager for once."

"How human of you, Tom."

"My son must have all that he wishes, or else I may lose him to you and your pathetic _Order of the Phoenix_." Voldemort spat the last part out.

"I believe that I have no say in the matter. The laws forbid me from turning a student away who wishes to learn here." Dumbledore said, slightly amused at how he had said it struck a nerve. "However, his being here will not influence my decision to try and change him."

"You are a fool Dumbledore. Do you not know who he is?"

"Lily and James' son? It would seem that you had a heart for him."

"I had a _plan. _One that I wish to fall through without flaw."

"Very well, say goodbye to your son."

"Goodbye's are for fools, mortals. I, however, am a god."

"A god who is still mortal?"

Another ending note to my readers: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Here's a cookie. There is my prologue to my next story, The Dark Lord's Son. Review, the more I get for this, the faster this comes up (same for Shattered Hope). valorousknight and his angry monkey bob.

Stats:

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Words this Chapter: 1443


	21. Vermin Hunting

A note to my reader: Sorry it took so long. I head a death in my family . My family has actually been dropping like flies recently so the posts may come slower than normal…

Chapter 21- Vermin Hunt

A strong northern wind had rolled in, causing a crisp air to course through the Hogwarts grounds. It was April, everyone was leaving for Easter Holiday, sans Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco and Ginny. Draco was sure it would be a bad idea to go home (he had received a rather nasty howler from his father about befriending mudbloods and blood traitors), and had instead decided to spend it in the safety of Hogwarts.

Ron and Ginny had passed up a rare chance to go to Romania and visit their brother Charlie, who was researching dragons. It was predicted that he would spend a while there, they had just found a 13th (and supposedly final use) for dragon blood. Fred and George, however, wasted no time jumping into a rushed and somewhat unnerving conversation on how to best prank their older sibling.

Hermione's parents were going to brazil for the holiday to enjoy the exciting night life of Sao Paulo, which was perfect for her because (as she had exclaimed more and more) exams were upon her. She had wasted no time constructing study schedules, which greatly conflicted Harry's physical training, which he had started shortly after Valentine's Day.

Harry had decided to stay only because Ginny was staying. She was beginning to look and act more like she had _before_. It made Harry's heart soar, knowing that she was still the same, that he had not altered that. This made Harry act in the strangest of manners. He would stare openly, tuning out all conversations around him, and did not break his gaze until she looked up and smiled at him. His cheeks would color and he would tune back into the world around him; he usually found himself breaking up an infamous Ron/Hermione fight.

Numerous 'Pettigrew Sightings' kept him on his toes, but other than that, the wind had also seemed to bring a sense of calm, as if to wash away all the bad things that threatened everyone.

The cold had also brought Harry a supreme amount of heartache. Ginny's red hair seemed more vibrant than ever. The tip of her nose was perpetually red. It was time like these that Harry wished he were older, that he could swoop down and capture her lips then kiss the tip of her nose lightly. He would pick her up and carry her to a couch conjured in the Room of Requirements and lay her down, starting a fire in the cold fireplace. He would begin by taking her scarf off, kissing her the whole time. Then he would slowly unbutton her jacket, all the while whispering to her _exactly_ what he planned to do to her, naughty things that made her melt into his arms. Abruptly, he would stop thinking of these things and turn a brilliant shade of red to rival any Weasley.

Ginny had become his life yet again. She was his heroin, his shot of firewhisky to get him drunk, his need for a nice cold shower. He would always be there for her when he needed him because there was nothing he would rather do.

"Harry?" Ginny had said during one of their bi-weekly study sessions.

"Yeah, Gin?" He blinked twice, not remembering when exactly he had turned to face her.

"You've been staring at me for almost an hour," she said pointedly. Harry's face heated up.

"Sorry," he muttered quietly. _Get it together, Potter. If you can't get your raging hormones under control, how will you fight Riddle? _He thought.

"Is this going to become a constant thing with you?"

"Huh?"

"This whole staring thing."

"Yeah, maybe," Harry said airily.

"Oh, okay," she said. After a moment, she asked, "Why?"

"What?"

"Why is this going to become constant?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked dreamily.

"Did someone slip you a love potion or are you just trying to scare me?"

"Yeah."

Ron chose that moment to walk into the room. Without looking up from his potions text he said, "Keep them in your head, Harry," before quietly walking up to the dorm for the night.

"I'm going to bed, Harry. You should head back to your dorm."

"G'night then, Gin."

Ginny walked up the stairs quickly, skipping over her first year dorm and stopping at the second year dorm rooms. She opened it quietly and peered around the room. She spotted Hermione engrossed in an Arithmancy book.

"Hermione," Ginny said, trying to get the older girl's attention. Hermione grunted for her to continue. "How do I know the difference between a love potion and when-"

"Harry likes you, now go to bed," Hermione said plainly, as if it were common knowledge.

"Err, right. Thanks Hermione," Ginny said quietly. She lay staring at the ceiling for the rest of the night, wondering how reliable Hermione truly was at these things. She finally decided that, as smart as she was, Hermione was very dense when it came to boys, especially her brother. They were the most obvious people in Hogwarts. The teachers even saw it. She decided she would not be falling asleep tonight. She got up and walked to her mirror. She could see her developing chest through the tight nightshirt she was wearing. She knew she was going to be curvy as it ran in the family, and only hoped Harry would notice.

Harry. She truly hoped Hermione was right. She had prayed in intervals throughout the night that he wasn't on a love potion, that this wasn't some cruel hoax someone had concocted. She was going to have to talk to Hermione later. Hermione was a very good listener, if you hide all the books in sight. With a wide yawn, Ginny stretched her arms out. She walked down into the common room. She heard what sounded like an argument from outside. Wondering who would be up at this hour, besides Dumbledore (Did Dumbledore ever sleep anyway?), she headed towards the portrait hole.

"I don't care how you knew the password; I'm not letting you in."

"That is not your job. Now open." The voice sounded scratchy. _Probably a Slytherin_, Ginny thought. She walked towards the opening, ready to tell the Slytherin off, and drawing her wand to practice her new version of the Bat Bogey Hex. She had reached her hand out when she heard a shriek. The portrait hole swung open. She was a balding middle aged man. He looked small and rat-like. That was the last thing she saw before her world went dark.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Harry woke with a start, as did his roommates. An alarm was going off inside the castle, the intruder alarm. _Pettigrew_, Harry thought immediately. He rushed towards the black door leading out to the dungeon, only to find it locked. It didn't matter though. As he sat down at the fireplace, Snape came striding into the room. He took one look at Harry and motioned him to follow.

Harry followed obediently, somewhat curious. "Where are we going?"

"Headmasters office," Snape said simply.

"Oh, okay." Harry followed a half step behind him. They made it to the landing at Dumbledore's office. When the door opened, his heart stopped. He saw a sea of red hair. The Weasleys were all there except-

Harry turned and strode out of the room quickly. His anger was boiling over and he made no move to control his magic.

"Harry! Harry, wait!" Dumbledore was striding close behind him. He reached out to stop Harry, but withdrew his hand quickly as his hand burnt.

"Shrieking Shack," Harry said gruffly behind his shoulder, suddenly sounding older than he seemed. He shot a stinging hex at the knob on the tree and disappeared through the opening. He heard talking.

"You hold something of his, something so easily broken. I wonder what it will be like for him, watching you die painfully. He'll find us, alone and without any adults to help him. He'll run to you, yes I can see it now." Peter Pettigrew was laughing gleefully, maniacally. "Speaking of which," he said, grabbing her hair, "here comes your hero now."

Ending note to my readers: Piss and moan all you want, you still haven't been to my forum. valorousknight and his angry monkey, bob.

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Words this Chapter: 1433


	22. Hero

A note to my readers: Yup, a new chapter. Finally. Fair warning, there is some mature-ish fluff, so if you can't handle it, please skip the italicized section. Thank you and enjoy.

Chapter 21

Hero

Harry walked up the steps and into the "living room" of the shrieking shack. His green eyes were trained solely on his target. All of his senses were on overdrive, as was his magic, causing the room to blow with an unnatural wind. Never before had Harry felt such an anger boiling within him. He took a quick glance at Ginny. She was alive at least, nevertheless she was unconscious.. Her clothes were torn in spots, and she had numerous hand and fist sized bruises along what he could see of her body. She seemed to have put up a hell of a fight. His eyes flittered to her neck. There appeared to be some sort of pressure on it, that was distorting the skin on it.

"I see you've noticed it then," Pettigrew said. He stepped out of the shadows with a menacing smirk on his face. "This will make it easier then. Come with me and I will remove the blade from her neck. Attempt to fight me and I will put that blade through the other side of her neck."

"Now, now, Peter. If you kill her, what makes you think you will be allowed to leave here, as they say, scotch free?" Dumbledore asked from behind Harry. "She is, after all, your biggest bartering chip.

"You listen here, old man! I MAKE THE RULES! I'M CALLING ALL THE SHOTS HERE! ONCE I DELIVER THE POTTER BRAT TO _HIM_, I WILL BE THE MOST LOVED OF ALL HIS SERVANTS! THEN YOU AND ALL YOUR PRECIOUS STUDENTS, no, THE WORLD WILL BOW DOWN BEFORE THE DARK LORD!" Pettigrew, it appeared, was more of a raving loon than before. But Harry didn't give a damn about that. It would be a hard shot to take, too risky for even some of the most trained and practiced of spellcasters. Even for the great Harry Potter, the Chosen One, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Conqueror of Glasgow, the shot was too risky. The razor blade was too small. There was only one solution to him.

"I'll go, but I want you to swear that you will not harm her, or anyone else when we leave," Harry stated. Pettigrew blinked once in disbelief, before smirking in triumph.

"I will want the same from you, Potter. You will leave Hogwarts without giving up a fight. The headmaster will do the same, he will not try and stop us.

Harry glanced at Dumbledore and nodded once. Dumbledore looked disapprovingly at Harry, but nodded anyway. Pettigrew, Harry, and Dumbledore all said their needed oaths at the same time.

"Good, now Potter," Pettigrew began as he removed the blade from Ginny's neck, "let's go."

"I'll be right back, sir," Harry whispered to Dumbledore as they passed each other. Dumbledore nodded once more and quickly strode over to check on Ginny. He levitated her off the old sofa she had been thrown on, probably headed for the infirmary.

"Give me your wand, Potter," Pettigrew spat. At Harry's hesitance he snarled, "NOW!" Harry gave Pettigrew his wand. Pettigrew grabbed Harry roughly by the scruff of his neck, forcing him outside. It was sunny, reminding Harry of a long forgotten memory. One where he had been standing in this exact same place, looking up at the village of Hogsmeade.

_17 year old Harry Potter lay comfortably on the grass just outside Hogsmeade. He was talking to his girlfriend of 2 years, Ginny Weasley. He had watched her grow for the past few years, but recently, she had really come into her own. Her hips had widened gradually. She had gotten taller, stretching out her already thin body. Her legs were long, as was her hair, which was slowly becoming darker. Harry, being the typical hormonal male, didn't fail to notice how her breasts had gone from their small A size to their mouthwatering C size. Her chocolate brown eyes were, at that moment, staring hungrily at her boyfriend._

_"Harry, could you get off your lazy ass and come kiss me already?" Ginny asked sweetly, her voice as sweet as honey._

_"Why don't you come over here, and kiss me?" Harry countered. "After all, I did initiate earlier."_

_"Mmm, yeah, I can agree to that 'initiation' you made earlier," she said throatily. His eyes quickly traversed across her body, taking in every delicious curve before returning to her eyes._

_"You didn't 'agree' earlier. In fact, you didn't say much of anything if I recall correctly."_

_"Well, it's kind of hard to when I'm- when I'm doing _that_." Ginny colored lightly after her admission._

_"Speaking of _that_, I don't believe I've returned the favor yet." With that, Harry got up slowly, he looked hungry in that instant, primal even. Ginny flushed darker._

_"T-there's no n-need for that, Potter, " she stuttered._

_"I must insist," Harry continued, advancing closer to her. _

_"B-but what if someone sees? What if we're-"_

_"That didn't stop you from doing _that_ in my dorm now did it?" Harry advanced ever closer._

_When she was within arms reach, he yanked her to him, giving her wet kisses along her jaw, down her neck and down to the bottom of the 'V' on her shirt. She whimpered as he pressed his mouth to hers, devouring her in a heated kiss that left her knees weak, her body trembling, and her mind wanting more. Harry slowly lifted her shirt over her head, laid her down, and got to the business at hand._

_Afterwards, Harry and Ginny lay panting. Ginny was blushing that famous Weasley blush, but there was a small, contented smile on her face._

_"I didn't know that that was possible with clothes on," Ginny gasped out after having caught her breath some._

_"Thank god for short skirts and lacy red-"_

_"Harry!"_

The memory faded as he was pulled roughly through the streets of Hogsmeade.

"Well, I do believe this is as far as I will allow you to take me," Harry said.

"Potter, you promised that-"

"I promised that I would let you take me out of Hogwarts. Hogwarts," Harry said, pointing at the castle just past the gates, "is over there. This," he gestured then to the surrounding area, "is Hogsmeade."

"I still have your wand and mine, Potter! Stupefy!"

Ginny Weasley woke up with a startled gasp. She looked around wildly before realizing where she was. It was late at night in the Hogwarts hospital wing. She jumped when she heard the hospital wing door creak open and a group of people walked in, talking hurriedly and in hushed voices. She could only make out bits and pieces.

"Traumatic experience-"

"Pettigrew-"

"But... Pettigrew took Potter? Then... So then how-?"

"Doesn't make sense-"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE LET HIM GO?"

The loud voice made Ginny squeak loudly before she disappeared underneath her covers.

"Seriously, Sirius, keep your voice down. I think you scared her."

That voice. It was him, her hero. She glanced out from underneath her covers to see Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and the entire Weasley clan. Her eyes quickly met Harry's, tears forming in her eyes. She jumped out of the bed and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck, sobbing, great heaving sobs into the juncture of his neck and shoulder. The Weasleys all crowded closer, joining in for a large hug.

"Shh, Gin, it's all right. It's all okay now. You're safe," Harry said soothingly, taking her gently into his arms.

"I know, Harry, I know. It's just- I was so scared, and I was so worried about you. He said he was going to k-kill you and then come back and-" She broke down sobbing again. She didn't have to finish. The thought made Harry sick. He was now regretting letting the rat go.

"It's okay, Ginny, I promise. He won't ever get near you again, I promise."

"I think I'm okay now, it's just... How exactly did you save me? You-" Suddenly her eyes flashed dangerously. "You _let_ him take you? You- You foul little ASS, Harry Potter! I- I- AHH," Ginny cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Where is my wand. I need my wand! GIVE ME MY WAND HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

"Look, Gin, it's not that big a deal-"

"Not that big a deal? WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU SAYING? HE COULD HAVE KILLED YOU! THEN WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE? YOU'RE A- A RIGHT FOUL GIT, YOU KNOW THAT?"

"Yeah, I do. But yet, here I am, safe and without even a nice scar to tell a story with."

"Oh, another scar to tell a story, huh? I'LL GIVE YOU A BLOODY SCAR! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WOULD HAVE BEEN IF-"

"If you hadn't just woken up. Look, Ginny, I'll explain everything in the morning. Just try to get some rest right now. Ginny nodded once, still glaring daggers at him before stomping over to her bed and throwing the covers over herself once more.

"Whew, pup. You sure do have your work cut out for you," Sirius said.

"At least she isn't scared anymore. Besides, I'm more worried about her than Pettigrew," Harry laughed. A low growl stopped his laughter abruptly, but caused Sirius and a few of the Weasleys to laugh.

Harry sighed lightly. She was safe.

Ending note to my readers: Yup, a new chapter is finally here. I got bored with trying to rewrite the chapters (they seemed good enough as they were anyway) so I decided to continue on. I have over 24,000 hits now, but I'm still just shy of 100 reviews. Seems a little unbalanced, but I'll make due with it, just remember to review. Even anonymous reviews are acceptable. Anyway, here are today's stats:

Time Finished: 12:00 AM 7/8/11

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Alerts: 77 Don't worry, I will win your favoritism soon enough (insert devil smiley here).

Words this Chapter: 1688 FF lies about the size sometimes. I don't blame them, most guys do lie about size :D


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